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r) E S C R I PT ION 



CEREMONY OF DEDICATION 



S T A^T XJ E 



MAJOE-GENEIUL JOHN SEDGWICK, 

U. S. VOLUNTEERS, COLONEL FOURTH U. S. CAVALRY, 



OCTOBER 21, 1868. 

INCLUDING 

THE ORATION OF HON. GEORGE ¥. CURTIS 

ON THE OCCASION. 






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NEW YORK: 



D. VAN NOSTRAND, PUBLISHER, 

23 Murray Street and 27 Warrbn Street. 

1869. 



PROCEEDINGS. 



Early in November, 1864, the Sixth Corps being 
then encamped on Cedar Creek, in the Valley of the 
Shenandoah, Major-General H. Gr. Wright, the corps 
commander, called together the division and brigade 
commanders, and at this meeting it was proposed 
and decided to erect at West Point, N. Y., a bronze 
statue of Major-General John Sedgwick, who had 
recently been killed while in command of the corps. 
A Committee, consisting of the corps and division 
commanders, was appointed to effect this design. 
The funds estimated to be necessary were promptly 
supplied by the corps, and were placed in the hands 
of Bvt. Colonel W. S. Franklin, Treasurer of the 
Committee. 

May 19th, 1868, a contract was made with Mr. 
Launt Thompson, sculptor — a copy of which is ap- 
pended. Congress, by the following Act, directed 
that the requisite amount of bronze should be sup- 
plied : 



L~[PUBLIC RESOLUTION— No. 37.] 

A RESOLUTION DONATING CERTAIN CAPTURED ORDNANCE FOR THE 
COMPLETION OF A MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE 
MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN SEDGWICK, 

Resolved hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and re- 
quired to place in charge of Major-General H. G. Wright, 
Major-General Frank Wheatou, Major-General George W. 
Getty, and Major-General Truman Seymour, three bronze 
cannon, captured by the Sixth Army Corps in battle, for the 
construction of a statue of the late Major-General John 
Sedgwick, to be placed on a monument erected to his 
memory by the Sixth Corps of the Ai-my of the Potomac. 

Approved July 3, 1868. 

The model was completed in clay in July, 1868. 
The casting in bronze was made by Robert Wood & 
Co., at Philadelphia, Pa., on 20th of August, 1868, 
and it was completed by L. A. Amoreux, of New 
York. The stone pedestal was constructed by Alex- 
ander Edwards, of Brooklyn, N. Y. 

The Committee gave public notice of the inaugu- 
ration in the journals of the day, which was widely 
republished throughout the country. Especial invi- 
tation was extended to many distinguished Govern- 
ment and State officials, letters from some of whom 
are here appended. 

The Committee, after discharging all pecuniary 
obligations, found that a sufficient sum remained to 



admit of the publication of these papers, and beHev- 
ing that such an appropriation would best subserve 
the interests committed to their charge, have caused 
five hundred copies to be printed for the use of the 
corps. 

H. G. Wright, 
Late 3faj.-Gen. U. S. Vols., (JommaiuUr Gth Army 
GorpH, and Bvt. MaJ.-Gen. U. S. A. 

Geo. W. Getty, 
Late Bvt. Maj.-Gen. of Vols., Gommander M Div. 
&h Armij Gorps, and Bvt. Maj.-Gen. U. S. A. 

Feank Wheaton, 
Late Bvt. Maj.-Gen. of Vols., Gommander 1st Dia. 
6th Army Gorps, and Bvt. Maj.-Gen. U. S. A. 

Teuman Seymour, 
Late Bvt. 3Iaj.-Gen. of Vols., Gommander M Div. 
6th Army Gorps, and Bvt. Maj.-Gen. U. S. A. 



Headquarters United States Military Academy, 

West Point, N. Y., Odoher 20, 1868. 

Special Orders, \ 

No. 22. j" 

Tlie formal dedication and unveiling of the statue erected 
in memory of the late Major-General John Sedgwick, com- 
mander of the Sixth Army Corps, who fell in the battle of 
Spottsylvania on the 9th of May, 1864, will take place on 
Wednesday, the 21st instant. 

The following arrangement of the exercises, prepared by 
the Committee in charge, will be observed on the occasion, 
viz. : 

I. 

ORDER OF PROCESSION. 

The line will be formed at three o'clock p. m., with the 
right opposite the west tower of the Cadet Barracks. 

Immediately thereafter the procession will move to the 
site, under the command of Brevet Major-General H. G. 
Wright, U. S. Army, in the following order : 

1. Battery of Light Artillery. 

2. Music — consisting of Mihtary Academy Band, Gov- 
ernor's Island Band, First U. S. Artillery Band. 

3. Battalion of Cadets. 

4. Family and relatives of the late Major-General John 
Sedgwick. 

5. Orator, Monument Committee, Chaplain, and Mr. 
Launt Thompson, artist. 



6. President of the United States and Heads of the 
Executive Departments. 

7. General U. S. Grant and Staff. 

8. Governors of States, and their Suites. 

9. Senators and Members of the U. S. House of Eep- 
resentatives. 

10. Members of the Sixth Army Corps. 

11. Officers and Soldiers of the Volunteer and Eegular 
Forces. 

12. Officers of the Navy and Marine Corps. 

13. Officers and Professors of the Military Academy. 

14. Citizens desirous of participating in the ceremony- 

II. 

ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS. 

1. Prayer by the Chaplain, Eev. John W. French. 

2. Music— {Stahat Mater.) 

3. Unveiling of the Statue— " Present arms, rolls and 
battery salute of thirteen guns." 

4. Oration, by the Hon. George W. Curtis, of New 
York. 

5. Music— (M)ses in Egypt) 

6. Benediction by the Chaplain. 

7. Music. 

By command of Brevet Brigadier-General Pitcher. 

Edward C. Boynton, 
Brevet Major and Adjutant. 



^xmjm lii tie ^gm. M$M If. gxm^h §. §., 



FOR THE GOVEENMENT. 

Almigkty God, from whom the blended voices of liberty 
and law flow forth forever, sounding alike in Thy works 
and word ; who hast taught us, by thy lessons in his- 
tory, that we must so unite them in all good" govern- 
ment, as to shelter men from the desolations alike of 
anarchy and of tyranny, we bless Thy holy name for 
their union in our American institutions. So may Thy 
benedictions rest perpetually on aU the branches of the 
National Government, on all the States, and the whole 
united people, that aU of them may shine together in 
their constellated array, image of the pattern which 
Thou hast set before us in the heavens, among all pos- 
terities forevermore. So may they stand in their order, 
none of them ever fainting in their watches, that they 
may be a light to lighten the nations, and the glory 
and blessing of a Christian people. We ask it through 
Him who taught us to render what is theu-s to gov- 
ernments, and to Thee what is Thine, even Jesus Christ 
Thy Son, our Lord. Amen. 



FOE THE ARMY AND NAVY. 

Lord God of Hosts, be pleased to receive into Thy 
Almighty and most gracious protection the Navy and 
Army of the United States. May Thy blessing rest on 
all who command and all who serve. On sea or land, 
in peace or war, may they deserve and receive the af- 
fection of their countrymen. Under Thy benediction 
may the schools of both services be nurseries for pro- 
ducing men — men, like him whom we remember to-day, 
conscientious, accomplished, brave, loyal, benevolent. In 
all ages, under law, and supporting law, may Navy and 
Army be the means, under Thy Providence, for giving 
to us, Thy people, a sheltered spot, where, in the agi- 
tations of this mortal life, we may lead quiet and 
peaceable lives, in all that thou ever approvest, and in 
all that men ever honor. Grant this, O Lord, for the 
glory of our Master, our Friend, our Life-Giver, Jesus 
Christ, Amen. 

FOR A BLESSING ON THE OCCASION. 

O Fountain of primal and everlasting love, issuing 
for us forever, in the mercy of the Spirit that leads, of 
the Son that frees, and of the Father that adopts us, 
may our love even in its feebleness, answer in har- 
mony to Thine in its unspeakable fulness. May we re- 
joice whenever in this world, not darkened by Thee but 
by sin, disinterested love brings out from human hearts 
their love in return ! On this occasion, when from a 
smitten corps of the army, and from the hand of those 
refining arts which Thou hast sent forth as civilizers 
among mankind, there rises before us a beautiful tribute 
from the love of soldiers to a grand, brave, loving com- 



10 

mander, we ask that the lessons embodied in the life 
and death of him whom we honor may never be lost. 
We ask not only that around both the graves and the 
sculptured images of heroes may ascend, in men's hearts, 
as23irations to be likewise heroes in defence of land and 
law, but we specially ask that the young persons who 
will daily pass by this spot, and the thousands who will 
visit it, may catch its peculiar instructions : that the 
tragedies of war are to be brightened by tender mer- 
cies ; that the true commander is to see in his soldiers 
his children, and in subdued enemies his brothers ; and 
that with and after all labors of head in campaign 
or battle, must work the anxieties of the heart that 
no needless suffering may come upon one of Thy hu- 
man family. So may the voice breathing of loving- 
kindness from this statue blend with the ten thousand 
voices coming from Thy blessed word, and coming from 
this Thy temple of nature, rising all around us with its 
majestic walls in tinted loveliuess, and so blended that 
we may be guided by them all, imder Thy Spirit sent 
from Thine own deeps of purity and love, to walk in 
love as Thou hast loved us — love in which we may for- 
get ourselves for Thee and for each other. We ask it 
through Him who came to us in His tender charity, 
and taught us when we pray to say : 

Our Father which art iu heaven, hallowed be Thy name. 
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is 
in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive 
us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not 
into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the 
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, fur ever. Amen. . 



11 



Undeb this October skj, among these historic hills, with 
this historic river flowing at our feet ; here, upon ground 
that Washington once trod, and which knew the dark- 
est tragedy of the Revolution ; beneath that flag, the 
bright morning star of hope to the nations — the flag 
that now floats unchallenged from this central post to the 
remotest frontier; surrounded by fields golden with im- 
measurable harvests, by homes of happiness and peace, 
by hearts of fidelity to country and to man, we come to 
honor the memory of the brave and modest soldier who 
died to give to our homes that peace, to confirm in our 
hearts that fidelity, to keep those fields prosperous and 
secure — your father, men of the Sixth Corps — our soldier, 
fellow-citizens — the silent, affectionate, heroic leader, whom 
the eye desiring sees not, whom the ear attentive hears 

not : 

' ' Whose part in all tlie pomp that fills 
The circuit of the summer hills, 
Is, that his grave is green." 

" Death hath this also, " says Bacon, " that it openeth 
the gate to good fame. " But good fame, in turn, con- 
quers death. He is not dead, although we no more see 
him. Behold how vast and various is his life ! In this fail- 
and noble statue he lives again. On the most heroic 
page of our history he lives and moves. In your hearts 
he is immortal. In the deeper splendor of the flag he 



12 

bore, in the supremacy of the Union he maintained, in 
the equality in that Union which he secured, in the larger 
power and increased justice of the regenerated country 
that he served, John Sedgwick lives now and shall live 
forever. Natural, and noble, and beautiful is the instinct 
that inspires our hands to build monuments to the illustri- 
ous dead. We carve their names upon memorial stone ; 
exquisitely the sculptor moulds their forms in bronze or 
marble ; but they carve their names upon history — they 
impress civilization with their likeness ; and whiter than 
marble, more lasting than bronze, is the monument which 
their influence builds in our pur€;r purposes and nobler 
lives. The American Union is the great monument of 
Washington and the men of the Eevolution ; the Ameri- 
can Union as the secm-ity of equal rights is the monu- 
ment of Sedgwick, and of three hundi-ed thousand of 
our brothers who rest with him. 

The tale of his life is the simple story of a brave and 
good man who did his duty, and died in doing it. Sedg- 
wick was but one of the soldiers of the Union, in the 
fierce struggle with which the land still rocks and the 
air thrills. That struggle is as old as history. It is 
fought by the tongue and pen as earnestly as with the 
sword and shell. It is the contest for the largest indivi- 
dual fi'eedom. Now it is a nation fighting for independ- 
ence ; then a man asserting moral and intellectual liberty. 
Now it is Leonidas and the Persians Unked in the death- 
struggle at Thermopylae ; then it is Galileo wrestling with 
the Inquisition. There, upon the continent of Europe, it 
is Philip II. and the Netherlands ; again, in England, it 
is the King and Parliament. Yesterday, it was the Co- 
lonies against the mother country ; to day, it is the Union 
against the Confederacy. Three hundred years ago, it was 



13 

Gerard shooting the Prince of Orange ; three years ago, it 
was Wilkes Booth shooting Abraham Lincoln. But every- 
where and always, in whatever crude and imperfect form, 
it is a movement of the same conflict — it is the struggle 
between those who declare that some men have no rights 
and those who hold the truth to be self-evident that all 
men are created equal. 

In Europe, three centuries ago, the cause of the people 
took form as the Protestant Keformation, and, transferred 
to the battle-field, was the thirty years' war. In England 
— drawn to a finer point in the sermons of stern preach- 
ers, in the debates in Parliament, in the loud snarl of 
pamphlets — it was kno-wTi as Puritanism. But, at length, 
it was preaching and debating no longer. At Edgehill, 
John Pym's speeches had become pikes and Charles's 
falsehoods, swords. The Cavalier fought for privilege ; 
the Puritan, for the people. The struggle was fierce and 
long, and, when the smoke of battle rolled away, 
Puritanism remained bivouacked upon the field. But its 
complete victory was reserved for another country and 
another continent. The old Puritanism was, doubtless, 
gloomy and severe — the tree that bore the ros}' and deH- 
cate fruit of American liberty was knotted and gnarled. 
But, while the Cavalier, the Tory, and the aristocrat, 
here as everywhere, have always derided Puritanism, re- 
member that the greatest of all English rulers was a Puri- 
tan ; the greatest of all English poets but one, was a Puritan. 
The Puritan policy abroad swept the Mediterranean of 
pirates, and protected the Protestants of France and 
Savoy. The Puritan policy at home defended civil and 
religious liberty against despotism, mitred as a bishop 
and crowned as a king. Across the sea, it planted the 
rocks of New England with the seed of popular liberty 



14 

and equal rights. The harvest is as vigorous as the soil, 
for freedom is a rude plant, and loves the cooler lati- 
tudes. In the auspicious air of a new continent, the 
Puritan spirit became modified and enlarged. Out of 
strength came forth sweetness. Government by church 
members became government by the people. John Pym 
became James Otis. The larger and generous Puritanism 
of America inspired the Eevolution. They were Puri- 
tan guns whose echo is endless upon Bunker Hill. It 
was the Puritan spii-it that spoke in the Declaration of 
Independence. ' It was the Puritan will that shook the 
glittering hand of the Cavalier Burgoyne from the Hudson. 
It was to the Puritan idea that Cornwalhs surrendered 
at Yorktowu, and, eighty-three years later, it was the 
Cavalier who again surrendered to the Puritan under the 
Appomattox apple-tree. Those stem, sad men in peaked 
hats, who prayed in camp and despised love-locks, and 
at whom fiibbles in politics laugh and sneer to-day, 
were the indomitable vanguard of moral and political 
freedom. If they snuffled in prayer, they smote in fight ; 
if they sang through their noses, the hymn they chanted 
was liberty ; if they aimed at a divine monarchy, they 
have founded the freest, the most enlightened, the most 
prosperous, the most powerful Republic in history. 

As we look back to-day upon that tremendous conflict, 
we see, emerging from the bitter smoke, the grim cham- 
pion of the people — Oliver Cromwell — and, by his side, 
there rides a sturdy Puritan, Major - General Robert 
Sedgwick. When Cromwell became Protector, he sent 
his General as commissioner to Jamaica, and, when the 
King returned, the Puritan decided to remain in America. 
"E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires," and, more 
than a centuiy after Naseby and Worcester, a descend- 



15 

ant of Kobert Sedgwick, a Major in the Revolution- 
ary army, defended the good old cause at Valley Forge. 
At the end of the war, he was made a Major-General 
of Militia, and his house, which the Connecticut Tories 
had burned while he was away, was rebuilt for him by 
his townsmen. It was in the little town of Cornwall, 
in the pleasant valley of the Housatonic, in the north- 
west part of Connecticut — the State of Putnam and of 
Wooster — ^and there his grandson — our General John — 
was born, on the 13th of September, 1813. He is re- 
membered as a quiet farmer's boy, going to the com- 
mon school, and working in the peaceful fields of Corn- 
wall Hollow — a generous, manly lad, a natural leader 
among his companions. But the spirit of the Ironside 
trooper and of the Continental volunteer was in his 
blood, and, as a little boy, he called himself " General 
John Sedgwick." 

Thus, a soldier, born of soldiers, on the 1st of July, 
1833, when he was twenty years old, he came here to 
the MiUtary Academy, where, three years later, he was 
graduated, and was promoted Second Lieutenant of the 
Second Artillery. He served immediately in the Florida 
war against the Indians ; a little later, upon the North- 
ern frontier, during the Canadian border troubles, and 
was engaged in recruiting at various stations. Thirty 
years ago, the profession of arms in this country did 
not seem to be very alluring ; but it is very much to 
those whom it did allure that we owe our national ex- 
istence. This academy, indeed, is accused of aristo- 
cratic tendencies, of educating a class of men in a re- 
pubhc, not to be self-respecting and thoughtful citizens 
but deaf and dumb and blind instruments merely. If 
the charge be true, it is fatal to West Point. If West 



16 

Point be a machme, in which those born and bound 
to be moral and responsible men and citizens are ground 
into slaves, then it is the most pernicious and perilous 
of all institutions in the country. For why has a large 
standing army always been considered the cm*se of lib- 
erty, and the enemy of civilization ? Becaiise a king 
and a ministry depend upon it to defy reason, human- 
ity, justice, and common-sense. Because the army was 
regarded as a vast, insensate trip-hammer, and the king, 
plus the trip-hammer, might pulverize the people at his 
pleasure. Jiut the moment the trip-hammer begins to 
think, that moment the hand of tyranny is relaxed, and 
the people are relieved. 

A republic is possible only among thinking men. In 
a republic, therefore, political interest and power are 
not a privilege of the few ; they are the imjDerative duty 
of all. Every man need not be a skilled politician, but 
no man has a right permanently to seclude himself from 
knowledge and interest in public affairs. The only hope 
for all is in the general intelligence and the general 
conscience, and there can be no general knowledge if 
individual men and classes are willing to be ignorant. 
Therefore it is that, in this country, while every man is 
true to the conditions of the Republic, there is no need 
of a huge standing army, for the great body of the cit- 
izens is the army. The arms they bear, in Kossuth's 
phrase, are bayonets that think, and the officers whom 
they professionally educate are no more justified in re- 
nouncing the fimdamental duties of citizens than the 
rest of the people. The American citizen who, under 
the plea that he is a soldier, excuses himself from po- 
litical responsibility and duty, betrays his country. 
Eighty years ago, when the French Guards refused to 



11 

fire upon the people of Paris, Charles Fox said that the 
French had abolished the fear of a standing army, be- 
cause they had shown that in becoming a soldier a 
man remained a citizen. A storm of reproach followed 
his words; but if the spu-it of them be not true, a sol- 
dier is the most contemptible of men. Discipline and 
obedience, indeed, are indispensable to military service ; 
but when the position of any honorable man anywhere 
requires him to do what seems to him unjust, mean, 
wicked, he will resign his position, and retain his man- 
ly honor. In your name, gentlemen, and in your pres- 
ence, here in the school in which our officers are trained, 
I deny that to become a soldier is to cease to be a 
citizen and a man. I deny that a soldier is a moral 
monster, for whom right and wrong do not exist. I deny 
that in a noble breast, whether in or out of uniform, 
the sense of loyalty to the flag will be deeper and stronger 
than that of loyalty to conscience and to manhood. And 
if our own heaven-born Stars and Stripes should ever 
become the black flag of infamy and injustice, it is an 
insult to you, as to your fellow-citizens, to suppose that 
you or they would imagine it to be an honorable duty 
to bear it. We are citizens of the world before we are 
citizens of any country ; we are men before we are 
Americans — iibi libertas, tbi patria — and oui- duty as Ameri- 
cans is to make America the home of noble men, and 
that flag the flag of liberty for mankind. 

In our late war, it was not the resignation of their 
commissions by those who felt, however mistakenly in 
our judgment, that they could not honestly fight under 
the flag, which cast so deep an odium upon them. It 
was not the conscience, it was the want of conscience. 
It was not the honest conviction, it was the treachery 



18 

that was so despicable. If Benedict Arnold, whose name 
is so tragically associated with this spot, had honestly 
resigned his commission, the consequeJice might, for a 
time, have been deplorable, but his name would not be 
infamous. It was the treachery that dooms him to 
eternal execration. It was not Twiggs's wish to leave the 
army, it was his base suiTender of men and material that 
blackens his name. It was not the resignation of Lee 
that forever marks him, it was his following the flag 
which he confessed he saw no reason for unrolling. 
The condemnation of all the West Pointers who resigned 
was not of the soldiers, but of the men. It was that 
they obeyed the authority of States, which they said 
they held to be paramount, when that authority ordered 
them to raise the flag of injustice and inhumanity. If 
it be said that a soldier must obey commands, whatever 
they may be, I reply that no honorable man will remain 
for a moment in a position which demands dishonor. If 
King Herod orders his ofiicer to slay all infants under 
two years of age, he will refuse longer to be an officer 
of Herod's, and, if every officer did so, Herod's mur- 
ders would be left undone. "I have ever had in my 
mind," said Algernon Sydney, " that when God should 
cast me into such a condition as that I cannot save 
my life but by doing an indecent thing, he shows me 
the time has arrived wherein I sliould resign it;" and 
when that time came he did resign it. He did not 
say, " My King orders it, my State commands it ;" he 
said, " My conscience forbids it," and he died. 

But the records of the Academy show that the officers 
educated here had not merged the man in the soldier. 
They had retained and exercised the duties of citizens. 
West Point, at least, had not made them machines ; 



19 

and let the tree be judged by its fruit. In tlie month 
of June, 1861, there were eight hundred and twenty 
Hving graduates of West Point; from the Slave States 
there were three hundred and eleven, of whom one 
hundred and thirty-three refused to follow the fortunes 
of their States. Add to those who resigned or were 
dismissed, ten from the Free States, and, of the whole 
eight hundred and twenty, only one hundred and ninety- 
seven renounced the flag of the Union. " Nearly four- 
fifths of its graduate officers remained faithful," says 
General Oullum, in his biographical register of West 
Point ; " one-half of those from the South stood firm by 
the Stars and Stripes, and in the battles for the Union, 
one-fifth of those engaged laid down their lives ; more 
than one-thhd, and probably one-half, were wounded." 
If the rebellion in the interest of the aristocracy was 
officered by West Pointers, so was the people's army of 
the Union ; and if the military chief of the rebellion had 
been Superintendent of this Academy, he surrendered to 
the military chief of the Union, who had been its pupil. 

At the end of the Revolution General Washington was 
made President, not only for his military renown, but for 
those qualities which the people knew that they could 
trust in the civil administration of the Republic. Wash- 
ington, as President, recommended the estabhshment of 
this Academy, and when, after the fierce but triumphant 
struggle to save, upon the true principles of the Republic, 
the Government and the Union which he founded, those 
who have succeeded look to find a successor of his whose 
character and career promise an administration which will 
secure peace with hberty and honor, their eyes, their 
hearts, and their hopes turn to a graduate of West 
Point. 



20 



It is not possible, and you will not expect, that I 
should trace our soldier step by step in his career. Be- 
fore the late war, his services were those of the officers 
of his time, and he rose by brave and brilliant conduct 
in the field and faithful duty out of it until the spring 
of 1861 which found him Major of the First Cavahy, 
and engaged in the building of Fort Wise, near Pike's 
Peak, in Colorado. From this remote retirement the 
shot at Sumter brought him into the constant and 
conspicuous service in which the brief remainder of his 
life was passed. In March, 1861, he was Lieutenant- 
Colonel of the Second Cavalry ; in April, Colonel of the 
First ; in August he was appoiated, in the place of Rob- 
ert Edmund Lee, Colonel of the Fourth Cavalry, and in 
the same month Brigadier-General of Volunteers, serving 
in the defences of Washington and along the Potomac 
in Maryland. When the Virginia Peninsula campaign 
opened, John Sedgwick was a division commander, and 
his story to his death is that of the Army of the Po- 
tomac. 

See how the story opened, for it ended as it began. 
After the battle of Williamsburg, the first considerable 
action was that of Fair Oaks and Seven Pines. The 
mass of the Union army lay upon the eastern side of 
the Chickahominy, and two corps, counting about thirty 
thousand men, were upon the other shore. A furious 
storm in the night promised to swell the river to an 
impassable flood, and in the morning the whole rebel 
force bore down upon the Union lines to annihilate one 
wing of the army in full sound and sight of their 
brothers, hopelessly separated from them. All the morn- 
ing the battle hotly raged; the Union troops were slowly, 
slowly, driven back. By noon the river began to rise. 



21 

General Sumner who was upon the eastern shore, and in 
whose corps General Sedgwick commanded a division, was 
ordered to cross, and he sent word to Sedgwick, the 
"always ready," as General Scott used to call him, to 
advance ; but, as Sedgwick came toward the bridge, he 
saw that the river had become a sea, sweeping fiercely 
by. Far out in the midst of the waves a plank, appa- 
rently anchored, showed the channel ; beyond the further 
end of the plank the waters stretched for a quarter of a 
mile. It was a perilous task to feel his way through 
the water with a heavy battery of twenty-four guns, and 
then to trust a fraU, trembling plank for the passage of 
the channel. But the smoke and roar of the battle be- 
yond the flood came nearer, and he knew that his breth- 
ren were sorely pressed. After a calm, thoughtful sur- 
vey, he gave the word " forward." Into the waters 
moved the steady line ; the gun-carriages sunk almost to 
the guns ; floundered, staggered. But painfuUy dragging 
on, soldiers and batteries crossed the quivering bridge, 
which was whirled away as they left it. Toiling again 
through the swift water and the mhe, an hour and a 
half before sunset Sedgwick came upon the field. The 
rebels, flushed with success, were driving their victorious 
columns as a wedge between the centre and the right of 
our wavering forces, but, like his Ironside ancestor, 
Sedgwick swiftly advanced, formed his line, opened his 
batteries, and shattered the wedge. The wasted foe re- 
coiled before his tremendous fire, his whole division in 
blazing line of battle moved steadily on, seized the 
stricken enemy, hurled him into the woods, and the battle 
of Fair Oaks was won. 

On the 4th of July, 1862, Sedgwick was made Major- 
General of Volunteers. In all that great army, strugghng 



22 



in the slimy toils of the Peninsula, there was no ofl&cer 
more trusted and beloved thaii this most unobtrusive man, 
this almost ideal American soldier. In person not tall, 
with dark hair, dark, almost still eyes, with the tranquil as- 
pect of reserved power, a man who did not talk much or 
loudly, but who was always gayly chaffing his associates, 
who was smilingly suspicious of newspaper fame, and never 
went to Washington ; a man of u'on will, promptly obedient, 
and therefore requiring exact obedience ; in council clear and 
swift, in action every faculty nimbly alive, his powers in- 
tensely concentrated, his soul glowing with eager pui^^ose, 
as at a white-heat, but not mastered either by victory or de- 
feat — he had all the cardinal soldierly qualities, the positive 
masculine manly traits, but with them that depthless tender- 
ness and sweet humor which complete the finest natures. 
One night a young officer of his staff whom he tenderly 
loved had been absent at a merry-making, and, losing his 
way homeward, did not return until after daybreak. As he 
entered, the General, who had feared some mischance to his 
friend, with a severe air said inquiringly "Well, sir?" The 
young officer, grieved with the apparent censure of the tone, 
began eagerly to explain ; but the General's face softened 
with inexpressible affection, and, rising, this man who never 
knew wife or child, with a father's fondness laid his hand 
upon the young man's shoulder and quietly kissed him. 

Simple in his habits, and of a rustic modesty of manner, 
Sedgwick's humor played pleasantly over every event. Sit- 
ting one day at head-quarters, in plain undress, a Yankee 
soldier sauntered up and said : " Say, old fellow, do you live 
here about head-quarters ? Can you do a fellow a good 
turn?" " I cannot exactly say," replied the General, "un- 
til I know what it is." " I want an order on the Commissary 
for a canteen of whisky for some friends who have come over 



23 



to see me." " Well," said the General, " the Commissary 
is a friend of mine, and you can try what friendship will do," 
and he wrote a few words on the back of a letter, folded it, 
and handed it to the soldier. The man looked at it, and 
when he saw at the bottom " John Sedgwick,'' he raised his 
wondering and abashed eyes, gazed long and with mingled 
respect and affection at his commander, folded the paper 
carefully and put it in his pocket. The Commissary never 
saw it, but doubtless some wife, or child, or mother, or sweet- 
heart, cherishes the story and the paper, and loves the 
memory of John Sedgwick. 

This was the man whom, early on the morning of the bat- 
tle of Antietam, we see advancing in line under a terrible fire 
through the famous bloody corn-field already won and lost. 
Eicketts and Meade had driven the rebels back, and in thefr 
tm^n had been overwhelmed. Hooker had demanded of 
Doubleday his best brigade, and, joining it to the line that 
Hartsuff led, once more the fiery rebel mass recoiled. Mans- 
field had fallen ; Hartsuff was wounded ; Hooker himself 
was wounded, and as he retfred the rebels threw fresh men 
upon the field. These Sedgwick encountered. His orders 
were to advance, but his quick eye saw at once the imminent 
danger, for the supporting division was too far away. He 
moved partly by the flank to cover the gap, but the enemy 
saw it also and dashed swiftly in. Sedgwick's ranks waver- 
ed ; they were shattered. Struck by a bullet in the leg, and 
again in the wrist, pale and dripping with his own blood, he 
rode among his soldiers, while the hurricane of fire and 
death devoured them, and his mighty will strove to re-form 
his melting columns and hold the enemy at bay ; but in the 
midst a third shot struck him, and he was borne insensi- 
ble from the field. He rejoined the army on December 22d, 
1862, and on January 5th, 1863, John Sedgwick was placed 



24 

in command of the Sixth Corps. It had loved its old com- 
manders — Generals Franklin and "Baldy" Smith — and it 
received a new leader coolly ; but brave men love a hero, 
and when the story of Fair Oaks, of Seven Pines, of Antie- 
tam, came thrilling from the warm hearts of Sedgwick's old 
division of the Second Corps to the wilHng ears of the 
Sixth, the Sixth, hearing what its new General had been, 
knew what he would be, and the corps and the General 
soon proved each other's quality. 

' When General Hooker decided upon the movement at 
Chancellorsville, Sedgwick, with his own corps, twenty-two 
thousand strong, and General Gibbon's division of the Second 
Corps, six thousand strong, crossed the Bappahannock two or 
three miles below Fredericksburg. He was ordered to 
advance toward Chancellorsville, fall upon the rebel rear 
simultaneously with Hooker in front, and so destroy the rebel 
army. At three in the morning, under a bright moon, Sedg- 
wick began his march ; the enemy immediately opened fire, 
and at daylight Sedgwick, fighting his way, was entering 
Fredericksburg instead of Chancellorsville. His advance was 
impeded by the enemy intrenched upon Marye Heights, and 
after disposing his men and planting his guns, Sedgwick gave 
the order to assault. Forward went Newton's Second Divi- 
sion, jubilant and resistless, like a great ghttering wave, and 
swept straight over the hostile works. Then pressing on 
with his own corps, leaving Gibbon at Fredericksburg, 
General Sedgwick met the enemy at Salem Church. Mean- 
while, Lee had baffled Hooker, and with a constantly increas- 
ing force stayed Sedgwick's advance. All night the Sixth 
Corps lay upon their arms ; Hooker was no longer an obstacle 
to the rebel chief, and with the full force of his victorious 
army Lee turned, struck Sedgwick in the flank, and the Sixth 
Corps, which had achieved a success so splendid upon that 



25 



tragical field, was enveloped in tlie general disaster of the 
army. 

As the Sixth Corps marched from battle to battle, from the 
heights of Fredericksburg toward the hills of Gettysburg, the 
indomitable will of the General urged the men so ardently 
that they called themselves " Sedgwick's Cavalry," and 
declared they were kept upon the gallop. They said he only 
halted when his horse gave out, and when he stopped every 
day to watch fi-om the roadside the passing columns, the 
men shouted good-humoredly from the ranks, " Get another 
horse and come on ; we'll wait for you, Uncle John ; we're in 
no hurry. Uncle John ;" and if the General smiled, the shout 
became a laugh, which broke along the ranks and echoed 
from companies and rippled along regiments until whole 
divisions rang with the loud response of merriment to " Uncle 
John's " kind smile. But it was a weary march to 
Pennsylvania in the frowning early summer of 1863, and 
the eve of the battle of Gettysburg brought a dispatch 
from General Meade which found General Sedgwick just 
gone into camp after a hard day's toil. But he saw what 
must be done, and at nine o'clock at night his columns 
began the march. 

All through the hot July night, after a weary day, 
and at a quick step, they pushed manfully on — brave 
boys who helped to save a nation. Sedgwick was never 
more aroused. His unconquerable will nerved and moved 
the long ranks of his army as the force of the ocean 
urges the waves. If his Generals suggested that there 
must be some rest or the corps would straggle, he replied 
shortly : " Have you seen Meade's order ?" When the 
corps made a brief halt for breakfast he ate nothing, 
but passed constantly among the troops, then gave the 
order to advance ; and when one of his officers was 



'26 

three minutes late in moving, the General exclaimed, 
"Tell him if he is so tardy again I will — " but no 
threat reached the trusty lieutenant, and none was 
meant ; but the distant thunder of the great battle 
even then announced the struggle, and the untiring 
leader, his soldierly soul aflame, knew that his absence 
might lose the day. This Ironside fervor again inspired 
the men, and at two o'clock, foot-sore, staggering, 
weary, having marched thirty miles since nine o'clock 
the evening before, the columns of the Sixth Coq^s came 
upon the memorable field. They were exhausted and 
held in reserve ; but so sharp and furious was the 
struggle that their aid was constantly demanded, and 
Sedgwick sent brigade after brigade of those indomitable 
soldiers, who stayed the rebel onsets, and so had their 
glorious part in the crowning field of Gettysburg, that 
drove armed rebellion from the loyal States, and gave 
the true heart of patriotism an exulting faith in final 
victory. 

Before going into winter-quarters, the army forced the 
passage of the Rappahannock at Rappahannock Station. 
The enemy was intrenched upon the hither side of 
the river. Against this position Sedgwick led the Fifth 
and Sixth Corps, under instructions to push the enemy 
across that day. Until sunset the artillery thundered in 
vain. Then General Wright, commanding the Sixth 
Corps, directed General Russell to carry the position 
by infantry assault; and Russell leading through the 
fiery hail from the rifle pits, through the smoke, and 
roar, and dust of the storm of battle, his frail and silent 
and unfaltering line, advanced steadily across that dread- 
ful field into the "jaws of death, into the mouth of 
hell," and never spoke until the bayonets clashed, and 



27 

then his word was " Surrender ; " and as the enemy 
crumbled and fled, the "Boys in Bkie" rent the air 
with three triumphant Yankee cheers, and " Uncle John " 
knew that his trusty children of the Sixth Corps had 
done it. 

In the following winter, during the illness of General 
Meade, General Sedgwick commanded the Army of the Po- 
tomac. The winter wearing away, the most ample 
preparation was made for the operations of the year, 
and with the opening spring the Lieutenant-Gen eral 
commanding the armies of the United States began the 
last campaign against the rebellion. You, gentlemen, 
helped to make the history which I describe — the fa- 
mous story at which the world still wonders, with 
which the loyal heart of the country beats forever 
grateful. 

But before we mark the individual part of Sedgwick 
in * that great campaign, let us see it as a whole. On 
April 30th, 1865, President Lincoln wrote to Lieuten- 
ant-General Grant : " And now, with a brave army and 
a just cause, may God sustain you." And, indeed, if 
the names of those who win battles that save civiliza- 
tion are dear to the heart of man, how cherished will 
be that of the taciturn, tenacious soldier, whom nothing 
could shake off from success ! Neither the tool of po- 
litical tricksters, nor the dupe of his own ambition, he 
shewed himself, in the final campaign, the time type 
of American genius in action. Grimly in earnest, he 
knew that war is not conciliation, and that the rebel- 
lion was to be suppressed, and suppressed only by the 
destruction of rebel life and rebel supplies. He knew 
that he could better lose a hundred lives than the re- 
belhon could lose fifty ; and he knew also that terrible 



28 

sacrifice was the least bloody road to peace. Breaking 
up on the Rapidan, early in May, he forced his fiery way 
through the Wilderness, and was called a butcher. By 
terrible blows, he drove the enemy ; by swift and silent 
marches, he flanked him, and was called a blunderer. By 
one of the most masterly and daring of military move- 
ments, his resistless will threw his whole army over the 
James, and forced the enemy into his capital, and he was 
called incapable. The roses of June faded, and the victory 
was not won. The bells of the fourth of July died away, 
and the "vdctory was not won. The auxiliary operations 
in the Shenandoah failed ; those to the south of Rich- 
mond miscarried ; public impatience grew, and passionate 
doubt and despondency clouded the summer. " Will he 
do it ?" asked, in whispers, the lovers of liberty. " He'll 
do no more," shouted the exultant friends of the re- 
bellion. They did not know the man. They did not 
remember Yicksburg ; they did not remember Chatta- 
nooga. " I shall fight it out on this line, if it takes 
all summer," was the only reply. It did take all sum- 
mer. It took all winter. But he fought it out, and 
followed that hne to victory. 

Undismayed by delay, undisturbed by impatience, hold- 
ing Richmond in both hands, he ordered Thomas to anni- 
hilate Hood — and he did it. He ordered Terry to take 
Fort Fisher — and he took it. He ordered Sheridan to 
sweep the Shenandoah — and he scoured it clean. And 
Sherman — where was he ? Suddenly the thick cloud of 
loyal doubts and fears and of rebel rumors parted, and 
revealed Sherman sauntering through Georgia, eating tur- 
keys and sweet potatoes. Like a gnat. Wade Hampton 
hovered upon his path, trying to sting, and was brushed 
away. A gast of Wheeler's cavalry blew oflf Kilpatrick's 



29 

liat. Fort McAllister crumbled at Sherman's touch. Hardee 
stole from Savannah like a thief in the night. The terror 
of Sherman's presence a hundred miles away emptied 
Charleston of rebel troops, as when a huge craft passes 
in the river the waters recede from the distant lands. 
Across Georgia, across South Carolina, into North Carolina, 
he moved unopposed, spreading his terrible wings, and 
scourging the land with fire. Then, with the accumulated 
force of fragments, Johnston dashed against one of his arms 
at Bentonville. Sherman threw him prostrate in the dust 
with one hand, and stretched out the other to grasp that 
of his great commander on the James. The silent Captain 
by the river, still holding his antagonist fast in his capital, 
had now shown, by the end of March, that the army of 
that antagonist was the rebellion, and he prepared to strike. 
At the extreme left of his line the sting of the swift and 
fiery Sheridan struck the enemy first. He winced and 
suddenly recoiled. But sharper gi*ew the sting ; swifter, 
and more fiery, until the word came, " Sheridan is sweep- 
ing all before him from the West !" Then the genius of 
the great Captain, seconded by the tireless valor of his 
soldiers, lightened all along the line, struck everywhere 
at once, burst over the enemy's works, crushed his ranks, 
forced his retreat, and at the same moment the master 
loosening his victorious columns in pursuit, choked the 
rebel flight, and overwhelmed Lee and his army as the 
Ked Sea engulfed Pharaoh and his host. So opened and 
closed the great campaign. So the Army of the Potomac, 
often baffled, struck an immortal blow, and gave the right 
hand of heroic fellowship to their brethren of the West. 
So the silent Captain, when all his lieutenants had secured 
thefr separate fame, put on the crown of victory and ended 
civil war. 



30 

But with what mournful and pitying eyes did Liberty 
survey lier triumph, bought, as all her great triumphs 
have have been, Avith tears, and blood, and heart-break. 
How truly sang her poet amid the ghastly tempest of 
battle : 

"We wait beueath the furuace blast 
The pangs of trausforniatiou ; 
Not paiulessly doth God recast 
Aud moukl anew the nation !" 

From the happy homes among the hills aud valleys, 
upon the seaside and the prairie, three hundred thousand 
brave and beloved had marched to the field and returned 
no more. Him, also, whom your hearts recall, whom his 
country remembers, who fondly said, as he stood at his 
door, looking out upou the soft Housatonic landscape, " Is 
there another spot on earth so beautiful as Cornwall Hol- 
low?" him, also, the green fields of Cornwall Hollow shall 
behold no more. 

Emerging from the Wilderness, on the 9th of May, 1864, 
the army was concentrated around Spottsylvania Com-t- 
house, General Sedgwick aud his corps holding the left of 
the line. It was Monday morning, and the General was 
watching his men place the guns. He was sitting under a 
tree, talking with General MacMahon, his Adjutant-General, 
and warm personal friend, one of the young heroes whom 
the war discovered and developed, and whose brilliant ser- 
vice and rapid promotion showed how wisely Sedgwick chose 
his men.* The General was speaking proudly and tenderly 
of his staff and his corps, when, observing some mistake in 



*General Macilahou, now Minister to Paragnay, is understood to he pre- 
paring a Life of General Si'dgwick ; and I am lunch indebted to a biographical 
paper written bj' him immediately after the death of the General. 



31 

the work of his men, he said abruptly : " That's wrong." 
He and his Adjutant were together, and as they moved to- 
ward the working parties the rebel sharpshooters began to 
fire. The sokliers dodged as the bullets whistled. " Come, 
come, men ! " said the General smihng ; " dodging for single 
bullets ! Why, they could'nt hit an elephant at this dis- 
tance." " Ah ! General," said one of the men behind a tree, 
" I've tried it, and I believe in dodging." " Very well, my 
man," said Sedgwick, " go to your place ; but I tell you they 
can't hit an elephant here." He turned, still smiling, to con- 
tinue the conversation with his Adjutant, who, at the instant, 
heard the sharp, low, singing sound of a bullet ending dully, 
and Sedgwick sank slowly to the ground. His friend, Mac- 
Mahon, vainly tried to support him. He bent over him, and 
spoke to him with passionate eagerness ; but Sedgwick did 
not answer. His eyes were closed ; his hands were clasped ; 
the sweet smile lingered upon his face. A little blood 
trickled down the cheek from beneath the left eye. His 
heart beat gently for a moment — and was stiU. 

The country heard of his death as of the loss of an army. 
It was concealed from his soldiers, lest they should be un- 
nerved in battle. Then from the sylvan bower in the old 
woods of Spottsylvania, in which he was tenderly laid that 
morning, Connecticut, remembering Putnam and Wooster ; 
Connecticut, mother of the Grants and the Shermans, of 
Ellsworth, Winthrop, Ward, and Lyon ; who had sent her 
children to every famous field of the war, — received, with love 
and sorrow, and with perpetual proud remembrance, the 
dead body of John Sedgwick. On the Sunday after he fell, 
borne by his neighbors, amid the tears of silent thousands, 
and wrapped in the flag, he was buried in Cornwall Hollow. 
No miUtary salute was fired above his grave ; but one soli- 



32 

tary peal of distant thunder sublimely suggested the soldier's 
life and death. 

Sedgwick died, but the victory was won. What was the 
victory ? It was twofold. First, it was the revelation of an 
overpowering national instinct as the foundation of the Union. 
It dissipated old theories ; it interpreted the Constitution. 
Plant a homogeneous people under one government along 
the coast of a virgin continent ; let them gradually over- 
spread it to the farther sea, speaking the same language, 
virtually of the same religious faith, intermarrying, and cher- 
ishing common heroic traditions ; suppose them sweeping 
from end to end of their vast domain without passports; 
the physical perils of their increasing extent constantly modi- 
fied by science ; steam and the telegraph making Maine and 
Oregon neighbors ; their trade enorinous, their prosperity a 
miracle, their commonwealth of unsurpassed power and im- 
portance in the world, and you may theorize of divided 
sovereignty as you will, but you have supposed an imperial 
nation which may indeed be a power of evil as well as of 
good, but which, until it is fatally demoralized, can no more 
recede into its original elements and local sources than this 
abounding river, pouring broad and resistless to the sea, can 
turn backward to the petty forest springs and rills whence it 
flows. " No, no," murmurs the exultant river ; " when you 
can take the blue out of the sky ; when you can steal heat 
from fire ; when you can strip splendor from the morning, 
then, and not before, may you reclaim your separate drops 
in me." " Yes, yes, my river," answers the Union, " you 
speak for me ; I am no more a child, but a man ; no longer 
a confederacy, but a nation. The States are the members ; 
I am the body. I am no more New York, Virginia, Massa- 
chusetts, Carolina ; I am the United States of America, one 
and indivisible." " Amen," roar Vicksburg, and Gettysbui"g, 



33 

and Port Eoyal. " Amen," thunders the Kearsarge, as she 
sinks the Alabama. " Amen," sings Sherman, as he marches 
to the sea. " Amen," says Sedgwick, as he sinks dead at 
Spottsylvania. 

But the victory was more than that. A great nation 
may be a great curse to humanitj. An imperial flag 
may be a black flag of injustice. It is not great power, 
it is the great use of power that is admirable. The true 
triumph of the war is not that the Union shall henceforth 
be an undivided power merely, but that it shall be an 
undivided power of justice and equality. Of the t\vo 
forces that from the first have struggled for its control, 
the evil principle, finding that, by all the laws of heaven 
and of human welfare, it was failing, sought to ruin 
what it could not rule. Baffled in its bloody effort, let 
us now take care, with malice toward none, with charity 
for all, that it be baffled for ever. But this can be done 
only by ceaseless activity. Eternal vigilance is the price 
of liberty, because its foe is as crafty as it is cruel. 
Beaten in one form, it will try another. The magician 
who was a tiger yesterday will be a fox to-day. Sedg- 
wick died to preserve the integrity of the Union ; we live 
that we may seciu-e its justice. From the three hun- 
dred thousand who see not this peaceful autumn sun, from 
field and river, from mount and sea, from the blood in 
the streets of Baltimore, from the torture and despair of 
Andersonville, fi'om Fort Wagner and Fort Pillow, from 
all your heroic fields, men of the Sixth Corps, from the 
Wilderness and Spottsylvania, and from your brothers who 
are buried there, comes the glorious cry : " We conquered 
under the flag of the Union, the flag that promised lib- 
erty. We won our victory and died. See that you die 

rather than surrender it." 

5 



34 

Officers and soldiers of the Sixth Corps, for the last 
time you stand here together, and before parting, never 
as a corps to meet again, your hands and hearts that, 
with his, beat back the cruel flames of war — here 
upon the spot he knew so well, in tender memory of him, 
and in bond of faithful union among yourselves, raise this 
statue to the brave and gentle Sedgwick. It is wrought 
of cannon that, with his eye watching you and his heart 
trusting you, you captured in the blazing fury of battle. 
It is a monument of your valor as well as of his devotion. 
His modesty would have refused it for himself, but his 
affection would have accepted it from you. Here leave it, 
under the sky and among the hills. Upon this soldier's 
field it shall outwatch, at its silent post, the sentinels of 
to-day, the sentinels of coming years. This noble pageant, 
this living multitude, these spoken words, tliis roar of can- 
non, these peals of echoing music, shall pass away ; but 
thou, mute soldier, shalt remain ! Thy lips shall speak when , 
we are gone. And to the young and docUe hearts that, 
through long years hereafter, shall hither come to give 
themselves to the service of the flag, say, changeless lips, 
for us, say for America, say for mankind : " That flag is 
the flag of liberty and justice, and therefore the flag of 
peace ! " 



35 



ptllterif f«^t0ri lof piaj0r-^wmrt ialm J^fidputcfe, 



( From ChxllwrCs Biographical Register. ) 

Cadet at the U. S. Military Academy from July 1, 1833, 
to July 1, 1837, when he was graduated and promoted 
in the Army to 

Second Lieut., 2d Artillery, July 1, 1837. 
Served in the Florida war against the Seminole In- 
dians, 1837-38, being engaged in the skirmish near Fort 
Clinch, May 20, 1838 ; in the Cherokee Nation, 1838, while 
emigi'ating the Indians to the West ; on Recruiting ser- 
vice, 1838-9 ; on Northern Frontier during Canada Bor- 
der Disturbances, at Buffalo, N. Y., 1839. — Fort Niagara, 

(First Lieut., 2d Artillery, April 19, 1839.) 
N. Y., 1839, and Buffalo, N. Y. 1839-41; in garrison 
at Fort Monroe, Va., 1811-42 ; Fort Hamilton, N. Y. 
1842-43 ; Fort Columbus, N. Y., 1843-45, and Fort Ad- 
ams, R. I., 1845-46 : in the War with Mexico, being en- 
gaged in the Siege of Vera Cruz, March 9-29, 1847; 
Battle of Cerro Gordo, April 17-18, 1847; Skirmish of 
Amazoque, May 14, 1847 ; Capture of San Antonio, Aug. 
20, 1847; Battle of Cherubusco, Aug. 20, 1847; Battle 
of Molino del Bey, Sep. 8, 1847 ; Battle of Chapultepec 

(BvT. Capt., Aug. 20, 1847, for Gallant and Meritorious 

Conduct in the Battles of Contreras and 

Cherubusco, Mex.) 

Sep. 12-13, 1847, and assault and capture of the City 



36 

(BvT. Major, Sept. 13,. 1847, for Gallant and Meri- 
torious Conduct in the Battle of Chapultepec, Mex.) 
of Mexico, Sep. 13-14, 1847; in garrison at Ft. Colum- 
bus, N. Y., 1848; Ft. Monroe, Va., 1848-49; Ft. Mc- 
Henry, Md., 1849-51 ; Ft. Monroe, Va., 1851, 1851-52, 

(Capt. 2d Artillery, Jan. 26, 1849.) 
and Ft. McHenrj, Md., 1852-55, and on Frontier duty 
at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., 1855, quelling Kansas Border 

(Major 1st Cavalry, March 8, 1855.) 
Disturbances, 1855-56 ; Cheyenne Expedition, 1857, being 
engaged in the action on Solomon's Fork of the Kan- 
sas, July 29, 1857, and skirmish near Grand Sahne, 
Aug. 6, 1857 ; Utah Expedition, 1857-58 ; Ft. Leaven- 
worth, Kan., 1858; Ft. Eiley, Kan., 1858-59, 1859-60; 
in command of Kiowa and Camanche Expedition, 1860 ; 
and at Ft. Wise, Col., 1860-61. 

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 
1861-G4: In the defences of Washington, D. C, June 

(Lieut. Colonel, 2d Cavalry, March 16, 1861.) 
(Colonel 1st Cavalry, April 25, 1861 ; 4th Cavalry, 
Aug. 3, 1861.) 
to Aug. 3, 1861 ; as Acting Lispec tor-General of the 
Department of Washington, Aug. 3-12, 1861 ; in com- 
mand of brigade in the defences of Washington, D. C, 
Aug. 12, 1861 to Feb. 20, 1862; m command of divi- 

(Brig.-General, U. S. Volunteers, Aug. 31, 1861.) 
sion guardmg the Potomac, about Poolsville, Md., Feb.- 
March, 1862 ; in command of division (Army of the Po- 
tomac) in the Vii-ginia Peninsular Campaign, March to 
Aug, 1862, being engaged in the Siege of Yorkto^vn, 
April 5 to May 4, 1862; Battle of Fair Oaks, May 31 
-June 1, 1862 ; Action of Peach Orchard, June 29, 1862 j 



37 

Battle of Savage Station, June 29, 1862 ; and Battle of 
Glendale, June 30, 1862, wliere lie was wounded ; in the 
Northern Virginia Campaign, on the Eetreat from Bull 

(Majoe-General U. S. Volunteers, July, 4, 1862.) 
Eun to Washington, D. C, Sep. 1-2, 1862 ; in the Mary- 
laud Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Sep., 1862, being 
engaged in the Battle of Autietam, Sep. 17, 1862, where 
he was severely wounded ; on sick leave of absence, 
disabled by wound, Sept. 18 to Dec. 22, 1862 ; in the 
Rappahannock Campaign, in command of the 9th Corps, 
Dec. 22, 1863, and of the 6th Corps, Feb. 5, 1863 (Army 
of the Potomac), being engaged in command at the Storm- 
ing of Marye Heights, May 3, 1863,— and Battle of Sa- 
lem, May 3-4, 1863 ; in the Pennsylvania Campaign, 
commanding 6tli Corps (Army of the Potomac), June- 
July, 1863, being engaged (after a forced march) in the 
Battle of Gettysburg, July 2-3, 1863, — and pursuit of the 
enemy to Warrenton, Va., July, 1863 ; in the Rapidan 
Campaign, Sep. -Dec, 1863, being in command of the 
right wing (5th and 6tli Corps) of the Army of the Po- 
tomac, in the Combat of Rappahannock Station, Nov. 7, 
1863,— and Operations at Mine Run, Nov. 26-Dec. 3, 1863 ; 
in the Richmond Campaign, in command of the 6th 
Corps (Army of the Potomac), May 4-9, 1864, being en- 
gaged in the Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864, 
and while making a personal reconnoissance, and direct- 
ing the placing of some artillery for the Battle of 
Spottsylvania, was, by a sharp-shooter, 

Killed, May 9, 1864: Aged 50. 



38 



The 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4:tli Corps were organized by direct 
orders of the President of the United States, March 8th, 
1862, from the Division organizations that, up to that 
date, had constituted the Army of the Potomac; the 5th 
and 6th Corps were organized, provisionally, by Major- 
General McClellau, the commander of that army. May 
18th, 1862. These troops were at that date encamped at 
the White House, on the Pamunkey Eiver, Va. 

Tlie 6th Corps was composed of the Divisions of Brig- 
adier-Generals H. W. Slocum and WiUiam F. Smith, and 
Brigadier-General WiUiam F. Franklin was assigned to 
its command. 

PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN — 1862. 

June 28, 18<>2 — Action of Golding's Farm. 

June 29, " — Savage's Station. 

June 30, " —White Oak Bridge. 

July 1, " —Malvern Hill. 

July 2, " — Skirmish at Harrison's Landing. 



MAEYLAND CAMPAIGN, 1862 

Commanders of Division, 



' Darius N. Couch, 
Henry W. Slocum, 
William F. Smith. 



Sept. 14, 1862. — Crampton's Gap, South Mountain. 
Sept. 17, 1862.— Antietam. 



39 

Nov. 14, 1862, — The First and Sixth Corps were united to 
form the " Left Grand Division " of the Army of the Poto- 
mac, and Major-General Franklin being assigned to the 
command, that of the Sixth Corps devolved upon Major- 
General W. F. Smith. 

EAPPAHANNOCK CAMPAIGN, 1862-3. 



Commanders of Division, 



John Newton, 
William H. Brooks, 
Albion P. Howe. 



Dec. 13, 1862. — Fredericksburg, Va. 

Feb. 8, 1863. — Major-General John Sedgwick was assigned 
to the command of the corps. 
May 3, 1863. — Storming of Marye Heights. 
May 3-4, 1863.— Battle of Salem. 



PENNSYLVANIA CAMPAIGN, 1863. 
Commanders of Division, 



Horatio G. Wright, 
John Newton, 
Albion P. Howe. 



June 9. — Combat of Beverly Ford. 
July 2-3. — Gettysburg. 

RAPIDAN CAMAPAIGN, 1863. 

Nov. 7. — The Fifth and Sixth Corps were united to form 
the " Eight Wing " of the Army of the Potomac, the com- 
mand of which was conferred on Major-General Sedgwick, 
and Brig.-General H. G. Wright was placed in command of 
the corps. 
, Nov. 7. — Combat of Rappahannock Station. 

Nov. 26. — Operations about Mine Run, and Action of Lo- 
cust Grove, to Dec. 8. 



40 

RICHMOND CAMPAIGN,- 1864. 

Division Commanders, 



J. B. ElCKETTS, 

H. G. WriCxHT, 
G. W. Getty. 



May 5-6. — Battles of the Wilderness. 
May 9. — Major-General Sedgwick was killed, and Major- 
General H. G. Wright assigned to command of the corps. 
May 9-21. — Battles of Spottsylvania. 
May 23-24.— Battles of the North Anna. 
May 30. — Tolopotomy. 
June 1-13.— Battles of Cold Harbor. 
June 23-July 10. — Battles about Petersburg. 

WASHINGTON CAMPAIGN, 1864. 

r James B. Ricketts, 
Division Commanders. -I Geo. W. Getty, 

[ David A. Russell. 

July 9. — Battle of Monoeacy (Ricketts' Division). 

July 11. — Defence of Washington against Early. 

July 12. — Action before Fort Stevens. 

July 18. — Skirmish at Snicker's Gap, in pursuit. 



SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN, 1864, 

f 

I 

Division Commanders. -< 



{ James B. Ricketts, 

Geo. W. Getty, 

David A. Russell (killed), 
. Frank Wheaton. 



Aug. 21. — Action of Charlestown, Va. 
Sept. 19. — Battle of Opequan. 
Sept. ,22.— Battle of Fisher's Hill. 
Oct. 19.— Battle of Cedar Creek. 



^1 

EICHMOND CAMPAIGN, 1864-5. 



Division Commandeers, 



Geo. W. Getty, 
Frank Wheaton, 
Truman Seymoxjr. 



December, 1864. — Siege of Petersburg. 

March 25, 1865. — Capture of intrenclied picket line 
near Fort Fisher. 

April 2, 1865. — Assault of enemy's works. 

April 6, 1865. — Battle of Sailor's Creek. 

April 9, 1865. — Capitulation of Rebel " Army of Northern 
Virginia." 

April 23, 1865.— March to DanviUe, Va. 

May 16, 1865. — March to Washington. 

June 8. — Review of corps at Washington. 

June 28. — Corps mustered out of service. 

6 



42 



Department of State, 
Washington, Oct. 15, 1868. 
Major-Geueral H. G. Weight, and others, 

Army Building, New York Oity. 
Gentlemen, — I deeply regret that my official cares here, seem to remler 
it impossible for me to accept your kind iuvitation to the ceremonies to be 
observed at West Point, on the 21st instant, in honor of the lamented 
Major-General John Sedgwick. Cordially sympathizing with your own loyal 
and patriotic feelings in regard to that interesting occasion, I have the honor 
to remain. Gentlemen, with very great resi^ect, 

Your obedient servant, 

William H. Seward. 



War Department, 
Washinghton City, October K!, 1868. 
Major-Gcnerals H. G. Weight, Geo. W. Getty, Frank Wheaton and 
Truman Seymour, 

Sedgwick Monument Committee, 

New York Oity. 
Gentlemen, — ^I have received your invitation to be present at West Point, 
on the "2 1st instant, to mtness the ceremonies of deilication of the bronze 
statue to be erected, by the Sixth Army Corps, to the memory of their late 
commander, Major-General John Sedgwick. 

It would afford me great pleasure to take part in such a tribute of respect 
to the memory of that noble soldier, but my official duties will, I regret to 
say, prevent my attendance on that occasion. 
I am. Gentlemen, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. M. SCHOFIELD, 

Secretary of War. 



Department of the Interior, 

Washington, D. C, Oetoljer U, 1868. 
Gentlemen, — I am this morning in receipt of your courteous iuNitation to 
attend the dedicatory ceremonies of the statue to be erected to the memory 
of the late Major- General John Sedgwick. 



43 



It would afford me much pleasure to be with you ou this occasion of trib- 
ute to the honorable memory of a gallant soldier, and I regret that the 
pressing nature of official duties, at this time, will preclude my attend- 
ance, 

I am , Gentlemen, very truly yours. 



Sixth Coeps Sedgwick Monument Committee, 
New York City. 



O. H. Bkowning. 



State of Ehode Island, 

Executive Department, 

Peoyidence, Oct. 31, 1868. 
My deak General, — Thanks for your kind attention in sending me an in- 
vitation to attend the ceremonies of dedication of the bronze statue in 
memory of the gallant Sedgwick. Absence from home not only prevented 
my acceptance of the invitation, but has delayed its acknowledgment. You 
know how glad I would have been to have joined you in paying that tribute of 
respect to the memory of our gallant comrade. 

Truly your friend, 

A. E. Burnside. 
Genl. Frank Wheaton, U. S. A. 



Pennsylvania Executive Chamber, 

Haerisbueg, Pa., Oct. 17, 1868. 
Major-Generals H. G. Wright, Geo. W. Getty, Frank Wheaton and 
Truman Seymour, 

Sbdh Corps Sedgwick Monument Committee. 
Gentlemen, — Please accept my thanks for your kind invitation to be pres- 
ent on the 2l8t inst., at the dedication of the bronze statue erected to the 
memory of Major-General John Sedgwick, by the Sixth Army Corps. It 
would afford me great satisfaction to accept the same, but an important pre- 
vious engagement renders it impracticable. 

I heartily commend the patriotic and praiseworthy spirit of the brave 
soldiers who have paid a high and deserved tribute of respect, in the erection 
of this statue to their gallant commander. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Jno. W. Geary. 



Norwich, Conn., October 17, 1868. 
Gentlemen, — I accept, with much pleasure, your invitation to be present 
at West Point, on the 21st instant, to witness the ceremonies connected vni\\ 



44 

the dedication of the statue of the hxte Major-General Sedg-wick, to be erected 
by the Sixth Army Corps. 

I hived and respected that distinguished and gallant soldier while living, 
and I cherish and honor his memory now that he is dead. Nothing, I am 
sure, could be more grateful to him than this tribute of aifection and respect, 
which his brave companions in arms, the gallant Sixth Corps, are about to 
pay him— it is alike honorable to them and to him. 
Witu j^reat resi^ect I am. Gentlemen, 

Your most obedient servant, 

L. F. S. Foster. 
Major-Generals H. G. Wright, Geo. W. Getty, Frank WhEATON and Truman 
Seymour. 



Mayor's Office, 

New York, October 17, 1868. 
Mujor-General H. G. Wright, U. S. A., 

Chairman, etc. 
General, — I beg leave to express my sincere regret, that engagements al- 
ready made will prevent my acceptance of your kind invitation to be present 
at West Point on the 21st instant, and that I shall therefore l)e unable to 
testify, by my presence, the deep veneration I feel for the memory of the late 
General Sedgwick, in whose honor his comrades purpose on that day to 
erect a monument. 

I have the honor to be, General, 

Your obedient servant, 

John T. Hoffman. 



TivoLi, Oct. 21, 1868. 
Major-Generals Wright, Getty, Wheaton, and Seymour : 

Generals, — Allow me — although your kind invitation for the 21st reached 
me, through misdirection, this evening — to thank you for your remem- 
brance, and express my regret that the delay prevented my witnessing the 
ceremonies in dedication of a monument to a brave and large-hearted sol- 
dier, who died as bravely as he had lived, for our common and dear 
country. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. Watts de Peystee, 



45 

Galena, III., Oct. 21, 18G8. 
To General H. G. Wiught, 

West Point. 
Iiivitatiou to attend dedication of Sedgwick moniiment too late. I re- 
gret not being able to join with the friends and companions of the 
gallant Sedgwick in showing resiject to the memory of one so much be- 
loved, and so honored for his patriotism and n^ble sacrifice in behalf of 
the country. 

U. S. Geant, 

General U. S. A. 

Headquakteks MrLiTABY Division of the Missouri, 
St. Louis, Oct. 21, 1868. 
General H. G. Wkight, U. S. Miglneers, 

New York Oily. 
Deak General, — I have this moment received your invitation to be 
present at the ceremony of inauguration of the Sedgwick monument, this 
day, at West Point. 

Of course, this comes too late ; but I am none the less obliged to you 
for inviting me to so interesting an occasion. Though absent in person, 
I am present with you in thought, and am happy that Sedgwick's friends 
have been so successful in rearing to his memory a monument so richly 
merited. 

Truly yiuir friend, 

W. T. Sherman, 

Lieutenant- General. 



Louisville, Kt., Oct. 20, 1868. 
Brevet Major-Geueral H. G. Weight, Brevet Major-General G. W. Getty 
Brevet Major-General Frank Wheaton, Brevet Major-General Tru- 
man Seymour, 

Committee Sedgwick Monument Association, Army Building, 
New York City. 
Gentlemen, — I had the honor to receive yesterday your invitation to be 
present at the ceremony of the dedication of the monument to be erected 
by the Sixth Corps, at West Point, N. Y., to the memory of their beloved 
commander, Major-General John Sedgwick. I regret exceedingly that 
my public duties will not admit of my presence on the occasion of paying 
such honors to one so deserving and worthy. 
I am, Gentlemen, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

Geo. H. Thomas, 
Major-General U. S. A. 



46 



Washington, October 19, 1868. 

Gentlemen, — I have the honor to ackuowledge the receipt of an in- 
vitation from you to be present on the 21st instant at the dedication 
of the statne erected at West Point, N. Y., to the memory of that 
distinguished and beloved soldier, the late Major-General John Sedgwick. 

Nothing could aiford me more gratification than to participate on 
that occasion in honoring the memory of that illustrious soldier, whose 
career sheds such lustre on our country and its arms ; but I am pre- 
vented from taking part in the ceremonies of the day by the condition 
of my health, which does not permit me to travel so great a distance 

at this time. 

I am. Sirs, 

Most respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WiNFLELD S. Hancock, 

Major- General U. H. A. 

To Major-General H. G. Weight, U. S. A. ; Major-General G. W. Getty, 

U. S. A. ; Major-General Frank Wheaton, U. S. A. ; Major-General 

Tkuman Seymour, U. S. A, 



Washington, D. C, Oct. 17, 1868. 
Gentlemen, — I regret exceedingly that absence on duty from this 
city will prevent my being present at West Point on the 21st instant, 
on the occasion of the dedication of the monument to the memory of 
the late much-lamented Major-General John Sedgwick. 
I have the honor to be. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

L. Thomas, 
Adjatani- General. 
To Major-General H. G. Weight, Major-General G. W. Getty, Major- 
General F. Wheaton, Major-General T. Seymour, Committee. 



Quaetebmaster-Genebal's Office, 

Washington, D. C, Octdbei- 14, 1868. 
Major-Generals H. G. Weight, Geo. W. Getty, Frank Wheaton, Tru- 
man Seymour, 

Committee of the Sixth Corps. 
Gentlemen, — I have had the honor to receive j'our courteous in\nta- 
tion to be present at the ceremonies of the dedication of the statue 



47 

to the memoiy of the lamented Geuoral Sedgwick, about to be erected 
at West Point. 

I should take great pleasure in doing anj-thing in my power to 
honor the memory of this gallant soldier and leader ; bat the prepara- 
tion of the official annual report of this department requires my pres- 
ence in Washington, and I shall not be able to be absent on the 21st. 
I am glad that the monument is being erected at the national mili- 
tary school, to whose training his life and services did so much honor. 
I am, very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

M. C. Meigs, 

Quartermaster- General, 

Bvt. Major-General. 

Washington, October 22, 1868. 
Major-Generals Weight, Getty, Wheaton, and Seymoue, 

Committee Sedgwick Monument. 
Gentlemen,— I have to acknowledge the receipt of your invitation to be 
present at the dedication of the bronze statue erected to the memory of 
the late Major-General Sedgwick at West Point, on the 21st instant, and 
to express my regret that official duties at this place prevented my uniting 
in that expression of admiration for his high qualities and distinguished 
services, and of sincere regret for his loss. 

Very resiiectfully. 

Your ob't serv't, 

A. A. HUMPHEEYS, 

Major-General. 

Peinceton, N. J., December 20, 1868. 
Generals Weight, Getty, Wheaton, and Seymoue, 

Committee 6th Corps Sedgwick Monument Association. 
SiES,— I have great satisfaction in acknowledging the receipt of your 
invitation to be present at the ceremonies of the dedication, etc., etc. 

It would have been my duty and my pleasure to have joined in this 
last tribute to one so brave, noble-hearted, and beloved as Sedgwick. 
The invitation was, however, received too late for me to be at West 
Point at the appointed time. With many thanks to you, gentlemen, 
personally, for your kindness and consideration, 

I am very truly, 

D. N. Couch, 
Major-General, late If. S. Vols. 



48 

St. Paul, Minn., December 18, 1868. 
To General H. G. Weight, 

U. S. Army. 
Genekai,, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your invi- 
tation to be present at the dedication of the bronze statue at West 
Point, which has been erected by the Sixth Army Coi-ps in memory of 
their- distinguished commander, Major-General John Sedgwick, who was 
killed in battle. 

I should have been glad to participate in these ceremonies if I could, 
for I hold the memoiy of his noble qualities as a man and a soldier as 
warmly as if I had been one of his command. 

Yours respectfully, 

G. K. Warken 



Headquaetees Artilleey School, U. S. A. 

FoKT Monroe, Va., October 17, 1868. 
Major-Generals Weight, Getty, Wheaton, and Seymour, 

CommUlee. 
Generals, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of yom- invi- 
tation to attend the dedication, at West Point, of the bronze statue to 
be erected by the late Sixth Army Corps to the memory of their late 
commander, Major-Geueral John Sedgwick, on the 21st inst. 

Under any circumstances I would be proud to render homage to the 
gallantry and virtues of such an officer as was Major-General Sedgwick ; 
but when I mourn his loss and love his memory also as that of a be- 
loved comrade and cherished personal friend of more than thirty years 
standing, I have a far higher motive in wishing to join with his late 
command in the dedication of the tribute of respect which they are 
now about to erect. 

Unless prevented l)y unforeseen circumstiinces, I shall be present at 
the ceremonies of the 21st inst. 

I am, Generals, very respectfully. 

Your ob't serv't, 

Wn.T.TAM F. Barry, 
Col 2d AnUlei-y, 
Brevet Major- Gen'l, U. S. A. 



Albany, Oct. 17, 18G8. 
Gentlemen, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
invitation to attend the ceremonies at West Point, on the 21st inst, 



49 



appointed for the dedication of a monuniout to the memory of the late 
Major-General John Sedgwick. 

Engagements made some time ago, and which, I regret to say, are 
imperative, render it impossible for me to be present on an occasion 
so full of interest to one who served with tho distinguished soldier whose 
career you commemorate. In the Army of the Potomac his name was 
always the theme of affection and praise. To him was given the rare 
felicity of honors without envy— of fame without detraction — and even 
the enemy, under whose fire he fell, united in the comntendation be- 
stowed by his comrades upon the blameless life and heroic death of 

Sedgwick. 

I am. Gentlemen, 

With high regard, 

Very respectfully, 

D. E. Sickles, 

Brevet Major-General, U. S. A. 

To Brevet Major-General H. G. Wright, U. S. A., and Generals Getty, 

Wheaton, and Seymouk, Committee, etc., etc., Army Building, New 

York City. 

7 



50 



[From the Neio York Herald, October 22, 1868.] 

Agreeably to public announcement, the monument to the memory of 
the late Major-General John Sedgwick, United States Volunteers, was 
unveiled and solemnly inaugurated yesterday afternoon, at the United 
States Military Academy at West Point. 

At three o'clock p.m., amid a heavy and continuous rain, which thor- 
oughly saturated the walks and grass of the parade, and the drops faU- 
iug incessantly from the trees, the military portion of the procession 
formed, which included a battery of light artillery (of six guns), the 
bands of West Point, of Governor's Island, and of the First United 
States Artillery, combined as one grand musical company of seventy in- 
striiments, which preceded the comisanies of cadets, nearly three hun- 
dred of whom were under arms, commanded by Brevet Brigadier-General 
Pitcher. The entire procession, which included many distiugiiished gen- 
tlemen, some of whose names are historical, being placed in charge of 
Major-General Wright, chairman of the committee of four generals, all of 
whom had served honorably in the Sixth Corps, arid intrusted by a 
formal resolution of Congress with the execution of the splendid statue, 
which will stand for all the future a mejnorial of one of the most be- 
loved and heroic of the soldiers of the war for the preservation of the 
Union. 

At fifteen minutes past three the procession, which had formed on the 
south-eastern side of the plain, received the signal to march, and imme- 
diately the soldiery proceeded down the westerly avenue, towards the 
platform, armed with umbrellas, where the distinguished guests were 
seated, together with the orator of the day and the chaplain of the 
post. 

Within a few feet was the monument, in the extreme .north-westerly 
corner of the parade, opposite the residence of Colonel Black, com- 
mandant of the corps of cadets, and about two hundred feet from the 
shaft erected to the memory of Major-General Brown, and which, until 
the prayer prepared for the occasion was read by the chaplain, was 
concealed by the national flag, that fell in graceful folds around it. 

At the close of the invocation, Major-General Ricketts, who, during the 
lifetime of Sedgwick had commanded the Third Division of the Sixth 



51 



Army Coiids of Volunteers, advanced to the pediment of the monu- 
ment, and amid the profound silence of the spectators, who stood with 
heads uncovered, the cadets having previously formed in close column, 
dotibling on their centre, presented arms, the battery at the same time 
firing thirteen guns, unveiled tiie statue. 

The statue is a splendid work of art. It perfectly represents the 
man. It is of life size and is placed on a pediment which, with the 
foundation, raises the whole memorial to an altitude of about fifteen feet. 
The figure is happily conceived. The zight leg is advanced, while the 
point of the sheathed sword rests on the ground. The hilt is covered 
with his right gauntleted hand, the left resting upon it, and his fatigue 
cap, as if just removed from the head to give the wide, open eyes a 
clearer view, is held carelessly between the sword and the body. The 
sash is tied carelessly about the waist, the tassels hanging a little behind 
the middle of the side. The head is thrown slightly forward, as if the 
eyes were scrutinizing some object in the near distance, while the mouth 
wears a sad yet resolute smUe. 

He is supposed to be looking at the rapidly rising waters of the Chick- 
ahominy, while standing at the head of his corps on the hither side, 
while another corps of the Army of the Potomac is being "annihilated" 
by the rebel army under Lee. He is ordered to advance to their relief, 
if possible, and he accomplishes the perilous feat. The pose of the life- 
like figure, as it is supposed to be standing on the raging and rolling 
river, is thus eloquently alluded to by Mr. Curtis, the orator of the oc- 
casion : — 

"See how the story opened, for it ended as it began. After the battle 
of Williamsburg the first considerable action was that of Fair Oaks and 
Seven Pines. The mass of the Union army lay upon the eastern side of 
the Chickahomiuy, and two coi-jjs, counting about 30,000 men, were 
upon the other shore. A furious storm in the night promised to swell 
the river to an impassable flood, and in the morning the whole rebel 
force bore down upon the Union lines, to annihilate one wing of the 
army in full sound and sight of their brothers, hopelessly separated from 
them. All the morning the battle hotly raged ; the Union troops were 
slowly driven back. By noon the river began to rise. General Sumner, 
who was upon the eastern shore, and in whose corps General Sedgwick 
commanded a division, was ordered to cross, and he sent word to Sedg- 
wick, the "always ready, "as General Scott used to call him, to advance; 
but as Sedgwick came towards the bridge he saw that the river had be- 
come a sea, sweeping fiercely by. Far out in the midst of the waves a 
plank, apparently anchored, showed the channel ; beyond the further 



52 



end of the plank the waters stretched for a quarter of a mile. It was a 
perilous task to feel his way through the water with a heavy battery of 
twenty-four giins, and then to tnist a frail, trembling plank for the pas- 
sage of the channel. But the smoke and roar of the battle beyond the 
flood come nearer and nearer, and he knew that his brethren were sorely 
jn-essed. After a calm, thoiightful survey, he gave the word "forward." 
Into the waters moved the steady line ; the gun-carriages sunk almost to 
the guns ; floundering, staggering, but painfully drasrged on soldiers and 
batteries across the quivering bridge, which was whirled away as they 
left it. Toiling again throngh the swift water and the mire, and an hour 
and a half before sunset, Sedgwick came upon the field. The rebels, 
flushed with success, were driving their victorious columns as a M'edge 
between the centre and the right of our wavering forces, but, like his 
Ironside ancestor, Sedgwick swiftly advanced, formed his line, opened 
his batteries and shattered the wedge. The wasted foe recoiled before 
his tremendoiis fire, his whole division in blazing line of battle moved 
steadily on, seized the stricken enemj', hurled him into the woods, and 
the battle of Fair Oaks was won. " 

It is enoiigh to say of the conception of the figure and face of this 
image of the hero that it is entirely worthy of the artist. It is a monu- 
ment of genius. 

. There is but one fault, and that is a serious one. The place selected for 
the statue is too retired, and unless pointed out, not one visitor in a hun- 
dred to the National Academy will ever notice it. 
The inscription on its pediment is as follows : 
Major General 
JOHN SEDGWICK, 
United States Volunteers, 
Born Sept. 13, 1813, 
Killed in battle, at Spottsylvania, Va., 

May 9, 1864. 

While in command of the Sixth Corps, 

Army of the Potomac. 

The Sixth Army Corps, 

In loving admiration of its Commander, 

Dedicates this Statue 

to his 

Memory. 

The above is on a metal plate inserted in the south panel, while on 

the easterly side the insignia of the corps, the Maltese cross, is placed, 

sunouuded by a wreath in metal (laurel) leaves. On the westerly side 



53 

is the shield of the republic, siirmouuted by an eagle, also surrounded 
by a wreath. The northerly panel is without inscription or insignia. 
The cross of the corps is also placed on the left breast of the statue. 

The silence which immediately preceded the unveiling was followed 
by rounds of applause, all present being evidently highly isleased with 
the memorial. 

The stripping was followed by music from the united bands, which 
a few moments before had rendered in magnificent style the Stuhat Mater. 

The orator then advanced to the front of the stand, while an offi- 
cer of the army held an umbrella over his head and manuscript, to 
shield him and it from the rain that fell during the greater part of the 
delivery of his sjilendid eulogium in memory of the dead. 

Mr. Curtis commenced by referring to the "historic hills" which sur- 
rounded the assemblage, and of the historic river flowing at their feet, 
and of the ground upon which Washington trod, and of the reminiscences 
of the revolution that had made the National School a school for heroes, 
and then, alluding incidentally to the beautiful statue, branched off into a 
review of the work of the Puritans, and showed that in every field, al- 
though sneered at for their sterling pietj' by the Cavaliers, they won the 
victory of freedom and of progress both for the Old World and for this. 
He then referred to an ancestor of the dead hero, Major-General Eobert 
Sedgwick, a Puritan, who fought sternly and unflinchingly imder the 
great Cromwell, and was intrusted by that leader with an important mis- 
sion to an island in the West Indies, and who, Charles the Second retiu'n- 
iug to the English throne, rather than bow the knee to royalty, sailed for 
Connecticut, and there founded the Sedgwick family, a representative of 
which, grandfather to Major-General John Sedgwick, fought through the 
Revoh;tionary war, and was subsequently made a major-general of militia 
by the State of Connecticut. 

• The orator then in eloquent terms reviewed the career of the deceased 
during the rebellion and anterior thereto, closing with a magnificent per- 
oration. 

In consequence of the rain-storm, but few comparatively were present. 
Among those on the platform were noticed Mr. C. H. Tompkins, Senator 
Foster, of Connecticut ; Governor Ward, of New Jersey ; Major-Generals 
McClellan, Meade, Heintzelman, Wright, Wheaton, Seymour, Hamlin, 
Franklin, Towers, Doubleday and Shaler ; Colonels A. W. Adams, S. J. 
Smith, D. J. Nevins, Samuel Truesdale, O. Milne ; Majors H. C. Ellis, T 
Norton Bundj', and Lieutenant W. E. Heddon and others, of the Sixth 
Corps. Colonels H. C. Pratt and F. F. Flint, United States Army ; Major 
T. M. FarreU, United States Army ; Dr. Paige, United States Army ; 



64 

Lieutenant Algiers, United States Army, and Dr. Simmons, of the British 
Army. The only sister, Mrs. Welsh, and a cousin of the deceased were 
also present. 

At the close of the address, " Moses in Egypt," was played by the 
bauds, after which the assemblage was dismissed with the Benediction. 

The cadets on the plain then executed the manual of arms in splendid 
style, and upon leaving the parade the pleased company retired to the 
river to seek passage homeward. 



[From the New York Sun, October 22, 1868.] • 

The monument erected to the memory of Major-Gen. John Sedgwick, 
that noble soldier who fell in battle at Spottsylviiuia, Va., on May 9, 
1864, was formally dedicated yesterday afternoon at the Military Ac- 
ademy of West Point, in the presence of a large number of citizens and 
many distinguished officers and soldiers of the army. 

Especially was the famous old Sixth Army Corps strongly represented at 
these last ceremonies of love and devotion to their brave and skilful leader, 
who had often nerved them to prodigious efforts in the field by his own 
fearless and soldierly example. 

The monument is their tribute to the memory of n loved commander. 
Before the corps disbanded at the close of the war, it subscribed -men 
and officers alike— a sum sufficient to erect a statue of their Gen- 
eral, and a committee, consisting of Major-Gens. Wright. Getty. 
Wheaton and Seymour, have had the matter in charge. 

The arrangements having been completed, the dedicatory ceremonies 
took place yesterday at West Point, as follows : 

At 3^ o'clock a procession was formed opposite the west tower of the 
Cadet Barracks, and moved to the site of the monument at the northern 
end of the parade ground, in the following order : 

Battery of light artillei-y. 

Music — consisting of Military Academy band, Governor's Island band. 
First U. S. Artillery band. 

Battalion of cadets. 

Family and relatives of the late Major-Gen. John Sedgwick. 

Oi-ator, Moimment, ' Committee, Chaplain, and Mr. Launt Thompson 
artist. 

Members of the Sixth Army Corps. 

Officers and soldiers of the volunteer and regular forces. 

Officers of the Navy and Maiine Corps. 

Officers and Professors of the Militarj' Academy. 



65 



Citizens desirous of participating in the ceremony. 

The whole under command of Brevet Major-Gen. H. G. Wright, 
U. S. A. 

Among the officers present were Major-Gens. Meade, McClellan, 
Doubleday, Heintzehiian, Frankhn, Towers ; Col. Pratt, U. S. A. ; Sur- 
geon Moore, U. S. A. ; Surgeon Paige, U. S. A. ; Dr. Simmons, of the 
British army ; Col. F. F. Flint, Brig-Gen. Burns, Major Bundy, Lieut. 
Ilgers. Among the Sixth Corps officers were Major-Gens. Wright, 
Seymour, Eicketts, Wheaton, Shaler ; Brig-Gens. HamLlin Warner, Hyde, 
Tompkins, Davis ; Cols. Oaker, Adams, Smith, Walker, Nevins, Trues- 
dale, Milne ; Majors Norton, Ellis, and many others. 

On the left of the monument was a large stand draped with Amer- 
ican flags, on which the orator, committee, and invited guests were 
seated. In front of the stand the cadets were formed in close column, 
doubled on the centre, at parade rest ; the artillery in the rear, and the 
band on the left. On the right were seats for the audience, which 
numbered several hundred. 

The exercises were opened with a prayer from the Chaplain, followed by 
music from the band, which performed Stahat Mater, The three bands 
had been consolidated, numbering in all about seventy instruments, 
and they executed the piece in a most exquisite manner. Immediately 
after, Major-General Ricketts advanced to the monument and pulled 
down the flag which enveloped the statue, unveiling it to the public 
gaze, amid the plaudits of the spectators, the roll of drums, the salute of 
the cadets, and the firing of thirteen guns. 

Its magnificent appearance, as it stood ottt in bold rehef for the first 
time against the sky, ehcited the warmest expression of admiration 
from the entire assemblage. 

As a work of art, we venture to say that it has no superior in the country. 
Of hfe size, in full military dress, standing in a commanding attitude, 
with life-hke expression of countenance, the statue rises the very ideal of 
a hero. Its fidelity to nature is remarkable, and its design admirable. 
The pedestal is of stone, and bears upon its front face the following in- 
scription : 

Major-Geueral JOHN SEDGWICK, 

U. S. Volunteers, Colonel Fourth Cavalry, U. S. A. 

Born September 13, 1814. 

Killed in battle at Spottsylvauia, Va., 

May 9, 1864, 

\\Ttiilo in command of the Sixth Corps, Army of the Potomac^ 

The Sixth Corps, in loving admiration of its Commander, dedicates this 

statue to his memory. 



56 

On the east face is the corps badge, and on the west the U. S. coat 
of arms. The whole monument is fourteen feet high, and cost $13,000. 
Artist, Launt Thompson. The metal was furnished by Congress from 
captured cannon. 

George W. Curtis then delivered the oration, which was mainlj' de- 
voted to the services of the General, and the standing of West Point 
in the Eepublic. It was a beautiful production, well worthy of the 
distinguished orator. 

The exercises closed with the performiiuce of 3Ioses in Egypt by the 
baud, and a dress parade by the cadets. 



iFrom the New York Times, October 22, 18G8.] 
The bronze monument erected by the old Sixth Army Corps in mem- 
ory of their well-beloved commander, Major-General John Sedgwick, 
was to-day dedicated and unveiled ■with approijriate ceremonies. The 
day proved an unfavorable one, however, as the sky was overcast, and 
a drizzhng rain prevailed throughoxit the entire proceedings. This fact 
rt)bbed them of considerable splendor, but they were thereby rendered 
doubly impressive and solemn. The leaden clouds which slowly drifted 
on the mountains at times concealed them from our view, and the 
landscape wore a mournful and saddened aspect, despite the varied 
autumnal foliage to be seen on every side, which would in a clearer 
atmosphere have lent an air of gorgeousness to the interesting scene 
transpiring on the parade ground of the West Point Academy. The 
Hudson wore a dull look, much at variance with its appearance on 
sunny days in this sheltered nook; and as the eye of the spectator 
wandered up and down its course, he failed to detect th,e beaiities so 
often enjoyed and described. Despite these disappointments, the visitor 
found West Point as much an object of interest as ever, and those 
who braved the threatening storm and prevaihng showers, were well 
rewarded by the ceremonies of the day, and the eloquent oration pre- 
pared for the occasion by Hon. Geo. Wm. Curtis. 

The monument, of which I sent you a brief descrij^tion yesterday, 
stood all morning draped with a garrison flag, the folds of which, as 
they became saturated by the rain, gave faint outUnes of the form of 
the lamented Sedgwick, as it had been fashioned by the gifted hand 
of the artist, and it was the centre of attraction to all fresh comers, 
who naturally sauntered thither while awaiting the hour for the pro- 
ceedings to commence. The steamer Sylvan Shore, which had been 
chartered l)y the Committee of Arrangements, arrived from New York 
at 2:30 p. m., having on board a large party of ladies and gentlemen in- 



57 

vited to attend the dedication, among them being several leading Generals 
and other officers. The arrival of the steamer seemed to be the signal 
for commencing the proceedings, for as the chapel tower clock indicated 
the hour of three, the guard bugle sounded the assembly for the cadets 
to fall in under arms, and a stir was at the same time observable among 
the artillerymen, who had for some time been standing in battery position 
on the main drill ground. The mihtary visitors and former comrades of 
the deceased General, also made rapid rendezvous in the roadway in front 
of the cadet barracks, where they were speedily assigned positions in the 
order of procession by the Committee. Standing in the pathway, I had 
an excellent opportunity to see those distinguished officers who had come 
np to participate in the dedication ceremonies. Gen. George B. McClellan 
first attracted my notice as he stood aside, dressed in plain clothes, and 
conversing with such of his army friends happening to recognize him. 
The General appeared a trifle care-worn, and has not that look of 
florid health that so distinguished him when in active service. Major- 
General S. P. Heintzelman, with his familiar iron-gray beard, stood 
near his old chieftain, as did also Major-Generals Cullum, FrankUn, 
Newton, and liicketts, nearly all in the uniform of their brevet rank 
as Major-Generals. Besides these officers, I noticed Major-General Abner 
Doubleday, Major-Geueral Henry E. Davis (formerly of the cavalry), 
Major-General H. G. Wright, the last commander of the Sixth Army 
Corps ; Major-General Frank Wheaton, of the First or Red Cross 
Division ; Major-General Truman Seymour, and Major-General George 
W. Getty, of the Second and Third Divisions of the old Sixth Corps, 
these last-named gentlemen being the Monument Committee. The old 
Sixth Corps was well rejireseuted by a large number of the officers in 
that command. Among them were Major-General Alexander Shaler, now 
of the National Guard, and who once commanded a brigade in the 
Second Division of the Sixth Corps ; Major-General Joseph Hamblin, 
who succeeded him ; Brigadier-General G. H. Tompkins, who com- 
manded the artillery under General Sedgwick ; Colonel A. J.- Smith, of 
the One Hundred and Twenty-second New York Volunteers, and a 
member of General Sedgwick's staff; Major G. W. Adams, Major H. 
C. Elhs, of the Sixty-fifth N. Y. V. ; Colonel D. J. Nevins, of the Sixty- 
second, N. Y. V. ; Colonel Samuel Truesdale, of the Sixty-fifth, N. Y. 
v.; Colonel D. Miln, Major T. Norton, Major Bundy, Lieutenant W. 
R. Hedden, and a great many others whose names I omit. Brigacher- 
General Pitcher, Superintendent of the Academy, Major-General W. W. 
Burns, and Colonel Moore, U. S. A., were also on the ground, as well 
as Surgeon Simmons, of the British Army. The relatives of General 

8 



58 

Sedgwick were represented by his only surviving sister, Mrs. Welch, 
and Messrs. Henry and Charles Sedg\\'ick, cousins to the deceased. 
Gov. Marcus Ward, of New Jersey, was also present. 

Positions in the line had been reserved for the President of the United 
States, the heads of the Executive Departments, and General Grant, but 
they did not come, as it was feared they would not. To the inspiring 
strains of martial music, as performed by the united strength of the 
Mihtary Academy, First Artillery, and Governor's Island bands, the pro- 
cession moved slowly down the main avenue to the site where the 
monument had been erected in the north-western corner of the parade, 
on reaching which the artillery moved round in rear of the statue, and 
then debouched on to the plain, quickly unlimbering into position pre- 
paratory to firing the required salute. The battalion of cadets pressed 
through the crowd of visitors, and halted directly in fi-ont of the stand 
erected on the left of the statue for the accommodation of the orator and 
distinguished persons present. Besides the members of the Old Sixth 
Corps and the other army officers present, there had gathered together 
nearly twelve hundred ladies and gentlemen from the neighboring towns 
and villages, who, in consequence of the steady rain, were fein to shelter 
themselves under the trees or their iimbrellas. 

As soon as the necessary preliminaries were over, an order was given 
to withdraw the cordon of sentinels round the reserved groixnd, it having 
become evident that the rain was the only check required for the gather- 
ing. The chaplain of the post, llev. Dr. French, then delivered an im- 
pressive and appropriate prayer, after which the colossal band performed 
Rossini's " Stabat Mater," at the conclusion of which Major-General 
Ricketts, who commanded the Third Division of the Sixth Coips under 
General Sedgwick, apjiroached the monument and unveiled the statue. As 
the well-known features of their old commander were thus so forcibly and 
faithfully j^resented to the comrades in arms of the deceased hero, a mur- 
mur of applause was heard amid the pattering rain drops and falling 
leaves, thereby testifying to the skill and genius of the artist. While the 
assemblage stood contemplating the statue, wearing as it did a golden 
hue, as it had come fresh from the artist's hands, a salvo of thirteen guns 
from the field battery broke on their ears, and awakened the inniimerablc 
echoes of the surrounding hills. As these slowly died away, the orator 
of the day, Hon. George W. Curtis, of New York, advanced to the foot 
of the i)latform, and delivered his oration, and the eftbrt proved one of his 
most el()(]uent eftbrts. He gave a vigorous sketch of the struggle between 
those who declare that some men have no rights and those who hold the 
truth to be self-evident that all men are created equal, and in rehearsing 



69 



the life of General Sedgwick, said thai ho had come from Puritan stock, 
his great-grandfather being Major-General Robert Sedgwick, of Crom- 
well's army. The commander of the Sixth Corps had always dreamed of 
a soldier's life, while yet a boy in his native town of Cornwall, in the 
Housatonic Valley. He gave an extended review of the military 
career of General Sedgwick after leaving West Point in 1837, in 
which he introduced many characteristic and interesting anecdotes of 
the deceased, and also presented an impassioned resume of the great events 
of the past seven years, and their influence upon the future of the nation, 
and claimed that the question of State sovereignty had been long buried, 
and the per^jetuity of the Union forever assured. 

The bands then performed Rossini's "Moses in Egj'jDt " in an effective 
and solemn manner, and the spectators were dismissed by the Benedic- 
tion. The cadet battalion were at the same time put in motion and 
marched to the centre of the parade ground, where the usual ceremonies 
of evening parade were gone through. Darkness then quickened the steps 
of the visitors toward the wharf, where they embarked for their homes 
by the steamers "Sylvan Shore" and "Mary Powell." As I write, the 
grounds are quite deserted, and we have again resumed the hum-drum 
routine of academic life. The cheerful lights gleaming from cottage and 
barrack only make the surrounding gloom the more mournful, and as the 
statue of Sedwick braves the pitiless storm, the mind wanders away to 
the modest grave of the departed hero in Cornwall Hollow, where, in boy- 
hood days, he had lingered, di'eaming of the future which was to give 
him glory and renown. 



IFrom the Neio York Tribune, October 22, 1868.] 
Mr. Launt Thompson's statue of Major-Gen. John Sedgwick, the lament- 
ed commander of the Sixth Cordis of the Army of the Potomac, was 
yesterday formally dedicated at West Point with appropriate military cere- 
monies. The statue is of bronze, and represents the general in undress 
uniform in one of his characteristic attitudes, his hands folded on his 
sword-hilt, and his body bent sUghtly forward, while his countenance is 
indicative of thoiight. There was but one opinion expressed by the nu- 
merous officers of the Sixth Corps who were present, and who had fought 
with the General up to the day of his death — that the likeness was excel- 
lent, and that Mr. Thompson had been wonderfully successful in his 
work. The j)edestal, a handsome granite block, bears the following in- 
scription : 

Major-General John Sedgwick, U. S. Volunteers, Col. 4th Cavalry, U. 
S. Army. Born Sept. 13, 1813. Killed in Battle at Spottsylvania, Va., 



60 

May 9, 1864, while in command of the Sixth Corps, Army of the Potomac. 
The Sixth Army Coiiis, iu loving achiiiratiou of its Commander, dedi- 
cates this statue to his memory. 

Yesterday was cold, rainy, and thoroughly disagi-eeable, and sufficient 
notice of the dedication had not been given in time to the widely scatter- 
ed officers of the Sixth Corjjs; yet notwithstanding these mishaps about 
50 of the officers of the Sixth Corps were present. Among the distin- 
guished army officers upon the platform were Gens. H. G. Wiight, Tni- 
man Sej^mour, Frank Wheaton, Kicketts, Geo. B. McClellan, Newton, 
Franklin, Tompkins, Nevins, Shaler, Hyde, Warner, Doul)leday, Heintzel- 
man, Hamblin. 

The niilitiiry display, parade of the cadets, evolutions of the cavalry, 
and firing of the salutes were conducted with that faultless precision of 
which West Pointers are so justly jiroud. The music, furnished by four 
military bands, was very fine. Though Mr. Curtis read his oration under 
the shelter of an umbrella, his eloquence chd not fail of its wonted effect 
on his audience. 



[From the Anni/ and jS'<tvy Journal, Od. 24, 1868.] 
Another memorial statue has been dedicated at West Point, and we 
surrender a large portion of our space this week to a rc^i)ort of the elo- 
quent M'ords in which the orator of the day did homage to the memory 
of those in whose honor it has risen — the true-hearted John Sedgwick 
and his brave men of the Sixth Corps. It is a statue of Sedgwick, but it 
is a memorial, not of him alone, but of that ctu-ps with which his 
memory is so intimately associated, and whose affection offers this tribute 
to the heroic and the homely virtues of their brave, great-hearted "Uncle 
John." No soldier of our army was more loved and t)'usted by his 
comi-ades ; none better deserved such love and confidence. This statue 
is the fitting tribute of a noble corps to a noble commander. As Mr. 
Curtis so aptly says to the men of the Sixth Corps : "It is a monument 
of your valor as well as of his devotion. His modesty would have re- 
fused it for himself, but his affection would have accepted it from 
you." 

We leave Mr. Curtis to tell the story of the Sixth Corps, and their 
honored leader. His oration will be read, not by this corps alone, but 
by all to whom the memoiy of soldierly achievements and soldierly 
virtues is dear. We print it in full, for it would be hard to deter- 
mine what portion coiild be spared. It is unfortunate that an unpro- 
pitious day prevented so many from listening to it. As it was, many 
of the well-remembered faces of the Army of the Potomac were seen 



61 

gathered about the statiie of John Sedgwick as General Ricketts 
stripped away the flag that covered it, and unveiled it to the sky. 
McClellau, Wright, Franklin, Truman Seymour, Wheaton, Newton, 
Heintzelman, Doiableday. CuUum, Wainwright, Tompkins, Clark, Nevins, 
Shaler, Hyde, Davis, Hamblin. and others. Several of the relatives of 
the General were also present, and, in spite of the rain, (|uite a number 
of ladies. 

The military display consisted of a dress parade of the cadets, firing of 
salutes, and music from a consolidated band formed of the West 
Point band, the Governor's Island band, and a regimental band. The 
statue, by Mr. Launt Thompson, is of bronze, cast from cannon captured 
by the Sixth Corps, under Sedgwack's lead. It represents the General 
in undress uniform, standing with uncovered head, his cap in his two 
hands, folded together across the hilt of his sword, upon which he 
l^artially leans as he bends forward in a chai'acteristic attitude. The 
figure and attitude are unmistakable ; the face, somewhat disappointing 
at first, grows upon one as it is lingered upon, and the likeness becomes 
more and more apparent. The statue is erected at the north-west cor- 
ner of the parade-ground, nearly on a line with the front of the hotel. 
Its position is well chosen, and we hope to see other statues to our 
dead heroes occupying corresponding positions on the parade-ground. 
They will be mute, and yet eloquent witnesses to the young cn,dets of 
the virtues and the patriotism which it should be their highest am- 
bition to emulate. 



IFrom the New York World, October 22, 1868.] 
The inauguration of the bronze statue of the brave and lamented Sedg- 
wick, at West Point to-day, took place in the midst of a cold and gloomy 
shower, which was well in keeping with the sad recollections the ceremony 
invoked. All the hanging woods, touched with the fiery splendors of 
autumn, were heavy and dripping with the ceaseless showers. The river 
that flowed beneath us mirrored the dixll skies, and all the hill-tojjs around 
were crested with great flakes of cloud. 

At the northern end of the parade, in an acute angle formed by the 
curvature of the roadway above the river, stands the statue of the noble 
commander of the Sixth Corps— a command with which his name will 
ever be gloriously associated. The total height of the pedestal and statue 
is eleven feet. The pedestal measures six feet, and stands upon a little 
elevation above the level of the parade, neatly sodded round. It is of gray 
granite, of the plainest character, with a simple base and cornice. Plates 



62 



of cast bronze are set into the sides aud front of the stone. The front 
bears the following inscription : 

Major-General 

John Sedgwick, 

United States Volunteers, 

Colonel Fourth Cavalry, U. S. A. 

Born September 13, 1814, 

Killed in battle at Spottsj'lvania, Va., 

May 9, 1864, 
While commanding the Sixth Corps, 
Army of the Potomac. 



THE SIXTH ARMY CORPS, 

In loving admiration of its Commander, 

Dedicates this statue 

to his memory. 

On the right side of the pedestal is a plate on which is a largo bas-relief 
of the Sixth Corps badge, surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves ; on the 
left is the escutcheon of the United States, with a similar wreath. 

The statue of General Sedgwick is cast of bronze cannon, captured in 
the late war, and presented for the purpose by Congress. The model was 
executed by Mr. Launt Thompson, and the casting is a siiccessful render- 
ing of the original. It is of life size, and represents the General exactly 
as he might have appeared on any day during his active service in the 
field. He wears a plain frock-coat, the Sixth Corps badge upon his left 
breast. His hands are clasped in front, and hold his cap and sword. 
The likeness is pronounced excellent by all who were acquainted with 
the late General ; and some of the officers who were with him in his last 
moments, and took part in the ceremonies of yesterdaj', pointed out, 
with tears in their eyes, the spot on the left cheek where the fatal bullet 
struck their beloved commander. At jiresent the statue is of a beautiful 
golden hue, and stands out very boldly and majestically from the back- 
ground of green aud scarlet foliage ; but a few short months' exposure to 
this humid atmosphere of hill and river will soon give it the antique 
bloom so dear to the virtuoso. 

The statue, of course, remained veiled throiigh the daj', until the cul- 
minating point of the exercises hereafter described. 

The preparations for the ceremony were quite simple. A platfo)'m aboiit 
twenty feet square aud four feet high was erected iinder the trees to the 
right of the monument Upon this was placed a stand for the accom- 



63 

modation of chaplain and orator, and a sufficient number of chairs for 
the distinguished guests who were to take a prominent part in the exer- 
cises. The platform was festooned with the United States flag, and upon 
each of the four sides was a huge wreath of oak leaves. 

Among the officers present on the occasion were Major-Gen eral George 
B. McClellan, Major-General Franklin, Major-General S. P, Heintzelman, 
Major-General Abner Doubleday, Major-General Alex. Shaler, Brigadier- 
General C. H. Tompkins, Brigadier-General W. W. Burns, Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Sherman, Colonel H. C. Pratt, U. S. A. ; Major T. M. Farrell, U. S. 
A. ; Colonel G. N. Adams, Colonel A. J. Smith, Colonel S. J. Nevins, 
Colonel Samuel Truesdale, Colonel D. Miln, Colonel Moore, Surgeon, U. 
S. A. ; Colonel F. F. Flint, Colonel John Oakey, Major H. C. Ellis, Major 
Bundy, Major T. Norton, Dr. Paige, U. S. A. ; Lieutenant Ilgers, Lieu- 
tenant W. R. Hedden, Dr. Simmons, of the British Ai-my, etc. Governor 
Marcus L. Ward, of New Jersey, was also present. 

The only surviving sister of General Sedgwick, Mrs. Welsh, and two of 
his cousins, Mr. Harry Sedgwick, and Mr. Charles Sedgwick, took part in 
the exercises. 

The grovind in the immediate vicinity of the statue was kept by one of 
the companies of United States Engineers stationed at West Point. Am- 
ple accommodation in the way of seats, etc., was provided for the general 
public, of whom alone twelve hundred isersons were present, including a 
large proportion of ladies. The disappointing aspect of the weather 
doubtless prevented a larger number from being present. The steamer 
Sylvan Shore brought up a number of officers, most of them comrades of 
the Old Sixth Corps, from New York city. 

The battery of light artillery was on the parade-ground long before the 
hour appointed for the inauguration. The men looked admirably, and all 
their horses and equipments were in excellent order. Shortly before three 
o'clock they drew up in column in the roadway before the Professors' 
residences. At three precisely the "assembly" sounded for the cadets, 
and in a few minutes their companies were formed in line before their 
quarters. The cadets were under command of Colonel Black. The offi- 
cers and friends of thp deceased assembled on the left. When General 
McClellan came upon the ground he was immediately surrounded by hosts 
of delighted officers, who warmly clasped his hand and congratulated him 
upon his return. The General looked remarkably well. He was plainly 
dressed in civilian's attire. 

The procession was formed in the following order, and moved to the 
site under command of Major-General H. G. Wright, U. S. A. : 



64 



Battery of Light Ai-tillery. 
Music— Consisting of Military Academy Baud, Governor's 
Island Band, and Band of the First United 
States Artillery. 
Battalion of Cadets. 
Family and Kelatives of the late Major-General Sedgwick. 
Rev. Dr. French, Chaplain. 
Orator, 
Mr. George W. Curtis. 
The Monument Committee : 
H. G. Wright, 
Late Major-General United States Volunteers, Commander 
Sixth Army Corps, and Brevet Major-General 
United States Army ; 
George W. Getty, 
Late Major-General Volunteers, Commander Second Di- 
vision Sixth Army Corps, and Brevet Mujor- 
General United States Army ; 
Frank Wheaton, 
Late Major-General Volunteers, Commander First Division 
Sixth Army Corps, Brevet Major-General 
United States Ai-my ; 
Truman Seymour, 
Late Major-General Volunteers, Commander Third Division 
Sixth Army Corps, Brevet Major-General 
United States Armj'. 
Civil Officers of the Government and of States. 
Members of the Sixth Army Corps. 
Army and Navy Officers, and Officers and I'rofessors of 
the Military Aciidemy. 
Citizens. 
On arriving at the site, the order of pi-oceedings were under the direc- 
tion of Major-tieneral Wright. The chaplain and orator were pro^^ded with 
seats by the stand, and the distinguished officers present were seated 
beside them. In the first line ap2)eared Major-Generals McClellan and 
Franklin. Brevet Brigadier-General Pitcher, Commanding West Point, 
was seated near these distinguished commanders. 

The cadets wei-e drawn up in line in front of the jilatform, Colonel 
Black standing a few paces in front of them. 



65 



The following was the order of proceedings : 

1. Prayer by the chaplain. 

2. Music ("Stabat Mater"). 

3. Unveiling of the Statue — "Present arms, rolls, and battery salute of 
thirteen gi;ns. " 

4. Oration. By Hon. George "W. Curtis, of New York. 

5. Music ("Moses in Egypt"), 
fi. Benediction. 

7. Music. 

The prayers offered by the venerable Chaplain of West Point were very 
impressive and exalted in their character. They were three in number, 
"For the Government," "For the Army and Navy, " " For a blessing on 
the occasion. " 

Immediately after the prayer, the grand and solemn strains of Rossini's 
"Stabat Mater" pealed forth from the united bands ; and at ils conclu- 
sion, Major-General Ricketts stepped forward, and, amidst breathless 
silence, withdrew the United States flag from the statue. As the strik- 
ing lineaments of the soldier that died for his country became visible to 
the vast circle of spectators, a subdued murmur of applause and admi- 
ration went up from among them, and died away in echoes of the tear- 
ful woods. The silent sympathy which succeeded was, however, instant- 
ly broken upon by the first gun of the salute from the battery, and by 
the sharji command to the cadets, "Present arms." The drums also rol- 
led out their vivacious clamor ; and the ceremonies culminated in a 
burst of appiaiise, as the orator of the day, Mr. George W. Curtis, came 
forward, MS. in hand, to deliver his address. A full report of this 
splendid oration accomiDanies my letter, so that it is not necessary for 
me to devote any extended notice to this admirable intellectual effort. 
Suffice it to say, that the orator was interrupted by frequent bursts of 
ajiplause, and that the many characteristic anecdotes he related of the 
fallen hero begiiiled the audience of smiles and tears, or of that mixed 
feehng [of the heart which is neither joy nor regret, but sweeter than either. 

The exercises concluded with the selections from " Mose in Egitto, " 
by the band, and the' benediction pronounced by the Rev. Dr. 
French . 

Immediately after the ceremony the cadets moved to the centre of 
the ground, and had dress-parade. Their drill has been so frequently 
admired and described, that I need only say the stranger visitors look- 
ed on and " wondered with great admiration. " 

9 



66 



First. The undersigned do hereby agree and contract, 
on the one part, to produce a portrait statue of the 
late Major-General John Sedgwick, to be cast in bronze, 
six feet high, with a suitable pedestal of granite, and 
proper inscriptions, all in the highest artistic style, to 
be properly placed and mounted at West Point, N. Y., 
and within one year from date of this contract. The 
bronze to be furnished to the artist from captured can- 
non, if possible, to be procured from the War Depart- 
ment. Any details otherwise unexplained to be subject 
to the decision of the Committee from the Sixth Corps, 
charged with this contract. 

Second. Ten thousand dollars, currency, to be paid for 
the above ; one-half on satisfactory completion of the 
model in clay, the remainder when the statue shall be 
delivered and placed on its pedestal at West Point. 
It being understood that the pedestal referred to shall 
be perfectly plain, excepting as to inscriptions, and that, 
should farther ornamentation be required, additional sums 
be paid therefor at the option of the Committee. 
G. H. Weight, 

3Iaj.-Gen., Commandinrj SfJi C()rp!<. 
Geo. W. Getty, 

Bvt. Mqj.-Gen, Cummanding Id Div., 6th Corps. 
Fkaniv Wheaton, 

BvL Mqj.-Gen, Commanding Id Div., 6th Corps. 
Truman Seymoub, 

Brig. -Gen, Commanding Sd Div.. 6th Corps. 
Launt Thompson, 

New York, May Idth, 1865. 



67 



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